


30 DAYS OF KILLERVIBE

by sssssssim



Category: The Flash (TV 2014)
Genre: 30 day killervibe challenge, F/M, KillerVibe - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-12
Updated: 2020-05-17
Packaged: 2021-03-02 01:02:11
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 30
Words: 34,123
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23616445
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sssssssim/pseuds/sssssssim
Summary: 30 Days of KillerVibe Challenge, event held by@killervibedaily. Clickh e r efor all the topics.
Relationships: Cisco Ramon/Caitlin Snow
Comments: 127
Kudos: 50
Collections: Killervibedaily Events





	1. #1: FAVORITE CHARACTER

**Author's Note:**

> I won't be able to post a fic a day, but I'm going to stubbornly post all of them. Eventually.  
> And, if I'm being honest with myself, the fics will be loosely-based on the topics given. I'll do my very best to have them as fluffy as possible, to include as little angst as I can. Cause the gods know we need all the fluff we can get.
> 
> Go show [@killervibedaily](http://killervibedaily.tumblr.com) some love, and join us on this challenge! 
> 
> And please, for the love of all them gods, if you can, stay at home.

(｡♥‿♥｡)

Caitlin always saw Cisco. Ever since the start, ever since the moment they have met, Caitlin has always seen Cisco.

She saw the genius that he was, the kind soul who wanted to do good in the world. She saw the nerd who got teased and bullied in childhood, who still didn’t think fit in with the scientists of their world. She saw the little kid who wanted affection and understanding from his family, who sought true love in any woman who gave him the light of day.

Caitlin always saw him, and ever since the Flash came into their life, she saw more and more of Cisco.

She saw when he was afraid, afraid for the life of his friends, of his city, for his own life. She saw even if he hid his fright behind Vibe’s gauntlets and goggles.

She saw when he was angry, when he was frustrated by life’s injustice, even if he tried to hide behind his work.

She saw when he was hurting, she saw when he was in pain, no matter how much he tried to hide it, tried to act strong and put together.

She knew him, knew him very well by this point, she knew his every tale. She knew the bad, she knew the good, she knew the ugly and the beautiful, she saw it all.

Caitlin always saw Cisco, but from a point on, she couldn’t look away.

It took a long time for Caitlin to realize what was happening, and it took even longer for her to accept it, and when she did, the timing was abysmal.

Cisco was happily dating Cynthia when Caitlin accepted the fact that she was in love with him.

She didn’t want to say anything after they broke up, thinking that he needed time. He did, because Kamilla came a while later.

But after Kamilla let him and got a job in Metropolis, Caitlin still did not tell him anything.

She couldn’t find the strength needed to tell him how much she loved him, didn’t find the courage to tell him she wanted to be with him.

Caitlin always saw Cisco, but he saw her as well.

(｡♥‿♥｡)

‘How about you and me grab some dinner tonight?’, Cisco grinned easily at her.

‘Any particular reason?’

‘Does every nice thing I do for you have to come with an ulterior motive?’

She didn’t answer, just raised an eyebrow.

Cisco pouted. ‘Well, okay, there is something I wanna talk to you about and I’m not saying that I’m gonna buy you dinner to get something out of you, but I am gonna buy you dinner to make you more pliant.’

‘Pliant?’, Caitlin couldn’t help but splutter.

‘Less like that!’, Cisco pointed an accusing finger at her.

She took a deep breath and calmed down.

‘What’s this about?’

Cisco smiled at her, but she saw that something was off. ‘I’ll tell you over dinner.’

She relented. There was no other choice, not when he was smiling so softly at her. 

So Caitlin smiled, as well as she could. ‘Where are you taking me for dinner?’

(｡♥‿♥｡)

Cisco took her back to his place, but only after they picked up a lot of food from Big Belly Burger. They did this a thousand times before, and this time it did not feel any different. 

But, Cisco had been right, because by the time the food was done, Caitlin felt relaxed. She was cozied up on the couch, she was eating good, belgian chocolate that Cisco pulled out of his pantry. She didn’t feel any anxiety at all, about whatever it was that Cisco wanted to talk to her about.

‘Hey, so.’, he started, turning around and smiling at her.

Of course, Caitlin’s anxiety kicked up a notch. And he saw it.

Cisco chuckled. ‘Stop it, it’s not that bad. It’s not anything bad, actually. I promise. I don’t think, anyway.’

‘Then what is it?’

‘Okay, so.’, he took a deep breath. ‘I know you, and I know how you react, so I’m gonna need you to let me finish, okay?’

It took a moment, but Caitlin nodded.

When Cisco spoke, he spoke in a very gentle tone, looking at her with a lot of kindness and understanding.

‘There’s something different about you, lately. I can’t figure out what, but there is something different, in the way you treat me. It’s not bad.’, he was quick to say when he saw her panic.

‘It’s not bad, Caitlin, it’s just different. And it’s clear that you’re going through something, something regarding me.’

He was waiting for an answer, but all Caitlin could do was nod.

‘You can tell me.’, Cisco said with incredible gentleness. ‘I mean, I can guess you have a reason for keeping it for yourself, but whatever it is, you can tell me. I’ll help you, if I can.’

At that, Caitlin had to chuckle. He could help her, oh boy could he ever? But the thing that Caitlin needed from Cisco, it wasn’t something she could just take. It wasn’t an errand, it wasn’t help with a project. It was so much more than that.

Caitlin wanted Cisco’s love.

She didn’t expect him to give it to her, but she hoped. She hoped for it, in the past months, always hoped for it, even if she had never asked.

‘So is there anything I can help you with?’, Cisco smiled at her.

Caitlin had to ask.

‘It means a lot to me, that you figured out something was… different. Even if you didn’t figure it out exactly.’

‘What can I say?’, Cisco grinned. ‘There are still parts of Caitlin Snow that are a mystery to me.’

She smiled at that. ‘I feel the same way about Cisco Ramon. But, I… I see you.’

That made him frown, and Caitlin did her very best to put into words the jumble of thoughts going through her mind and the feelings kicking up a storm in her heart.

‘I know you, and I see you, I always see you, Cisco. I see you even when you want to hide, hide your fears, your frustration. When you lock yourself in your workshop because you don’t want us to see you’re hurting, when you put up a smile to cover everything up.’

Cisco kept frowning, but not in disagreement. He just didn’t understand where she was going with this.

‘I’ve always seen you, Cisco. From the moment you metaphorically wiped the floor with Hartley on your first day at Star Labs, I have always seen you. And recently-’, her voice broke.

‘In the past months.’, he said gently. ‘Not recently, but in the past months.’

She nodded. ‘In the past months, I’ve seen you, and I couldn’t look away anymore.’

He was silent for a few long moments, but then he frowned harder and moved a little closer to her.

‘While that sounds lovely and it’s totally making me like super emotional, I don’t understand what you’re saying.’

Caitlin chuckled, feeling like she was shaking from her core. She found courage in the lovely way he was looking at her, so she grabbed his hand.

He was surprised, but Cisco let her, he even gently squeezed her fingers.

‘It’s Friday tomorrow.’, she said gently. ‘Do you have any plans after work?’

Cisco snorted. ‘I never do. What about you?’

‘A date.’ Caitlin breathed in shakily. ‘If you want.’

‘A date?’, Cisco's voice was high pitched. ‘With me?’

She nodded, knowing that he will need some time to sort things out in his head.

It took about a minute, time in which Cisco kept staring at her, blinking rapidly, a million thoughts and emotions reflecting in his eyes.

But then he smiled, in an almost shy way, and excitement glinted in his eyes.

‘This is what’s got you acting weird these past months?’

Caitlin swallowed thickly. ‘It took a while to… figure it out.’

‘And you didn’t say anything because…?’, he raised his eyebrows.

It was difficult for her to say the words out loud, but she did. ‘Because I was afraid of you how you’d react.’

For some reason, that made him smile. Slowly, the smile grew into a grin.

‘I think I’m reacting pretty well.’, he teased, scrunching up his nose. ‘Actually, there’s just this one thing-’

Cisco cut himself off. In a rush, he grabbed Caitlin’s cheek and pressed their lips together.

It was a short kiss, but it was a real kiss and it meant the world, to Caitlin.

He pulled away, but his hand still cradled her face.

‘Did that calm you down?’, Cisco grinned.

‘Yeah.’, she breathed out. ‘Yeah, it did.’

And it really did, all the anxiety and nervousness Caitlin had felt during this conversation, it all went away with the simple press of Cisco’s lips to hers.

‘Good!’, Cisco kept on grinning. He also rearranged himself, until he was pressed to Caitlin’s side and his arm was around her shoulders.

Her cheeks felt like they were on fire, she was probably blushing furiously, but Cisco was cuddling her and she was incredibly calm.

‘So where are you taking me for our date tomorrow?’

Caitlin had no idea, but the thought brought butterflies to her stomach and she felt… incredibly giddy.

Cisco saw it, clearly he did, because he chuckled and sweetly kissed her cheek.

‘We’ll figure it out.’, was all he whispered, before he pressed his lips to hers.

She absolutely melted, in the minutes to follow, but Caitlin still thought of one thing: tonight, she got to see another part of Cisco, that had been hidden from her. And she couldn’t wait to see the rest of him.


	2. #2 FAVORITE EPISODE

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It’s their wedding day, and Cisco finds out when Caitlin started falling for him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> my favorite killervibe related episode is 5x2 - Blocked. I think. maybe. probably. that scene with them in Jitters, holding hands, Caitlin crying. yeah, that one. I think.

Cisco had been awake for 20 hours. By this point, he was running on coffee, chocolate, and the happiness he felt bursting out of his chest.

It was his wedding day, and everything went according to plan. Well, no, there were little mishaps, but nothing as big as a Dominator invasion, for example.

He married Caitlin, he married the love of his life. They signed the papers, had a quick ceremony with a priest and now, they had been partying for five hours straight.

Cisco was absolutely exhausted, but he has never been this happy in his life.

The party was dying down, most of the guests had already left, but the superheroes were still drinking and talking, Cisco was sure it’ll take another hour or two before they left.

He didn’t mind, really. He didn’t mind anything, by that point.

He had a gold band on his finger, there was a matching one on Caitlin’s, and this was the first night of the rest of their lives, a life they will spend together, till the end.

Nothing could disrupt his good mood. … Except for a Dominator invasion, but he had fingers crossed that didn’t happen.

He still wasn’t 100% this was really happening. He expected to wake up from the mother of all vibes any moment now, but he knew, objectively, that this wasn’t a vibe. That it was real, that Caitlin was his wife, that he was the happiest man in the world. But it was a hard thing to believe, that it was actually happening.

Caitlin came by his side, a woosh of white tulle that took awhile to arrange in order to have her sit down. Cisco helped, and she managed to sit down on the chair next to him. She snuggled to his side immediately, and he was quick to accommodate her.

He was also quick to kiss her, nice and quick. She smiled at him, very sweetly.

‘You’re being all moody.’, she teased. ‘I could feel you thinking from across the room.’

Cisco snorted. ‘Come on, I didn’t-’

‘What were you thinking about?’, she cut him off.

‘Honestly?’, he sighed, hugged her tighter. ‘I was thinking that there is a very slim, terribly tiny chance of this not being real.’

‘What? Us getting married?’

‘You falling in love with me.’, Cisco admitted with just a little difficulty.

First, Caitlin kissed him. Sweetly and unhurried, a promise of more to come. Then, she got comfortable and didn’t look at him as she spoke.

‘You know when I started to fall in love with you?’

‘Uhhh’, Cisc frowned, ‘I’m guessing a few months after we started dating?’

‘Nope. I started falling in love with you because of  _ Ralph Dibny's 27 steps to getting over the love of your life. _ ’

‘That… doesn’t make any sense.’, Cisco said after a long pause.

‘Yes, it does, kinda.’, Caitlin giggled, before growing serious. ‘You were hurting, then, and while I hated that, I loved that I got to spend a little more time with you, then. Even though you hated it, the new clothes, the new hair, you were still trying, even though I knew, perfectly well, that you were trying just to shut up Ralph and I.’

‘Well, yeah.’, Cisco admitted.

‘And then we met at Jitters, and you asked about my dad and we talked. We talked and it felt like it was the first time in forever.’

‘You were crying’, Cisco remembered it clearly, ‘and I was holding your hand, wearing that cringy outfit.’

She chuckled at that, kept on smiling afterwards. ‘I… I don’t know exactly what happened, or why it happened, but that was the very first time when I thought… what if?’

‘What if? What if what?’

She looked at him, smiling wildly. ‘What if Cisco and I were more than friends? What if we tried? What if we fell in love? What if he’s the love of my life?’

‘Because I’m still in it.’, Cisco said, remembering Ralph’s last rule.

She nodded. ‘Because you were still in it. Because I wanted you to be in it forever. Because you made me feel better about my dad, then. Because you always made me feel better. Because... ‘ Caitlin grinned. ‘Because you looked lovely in that cringy outfit, but I always thought you look pretty damn appetizing in jeans and graphic tees.’

Cisco chuckled at that, feeling a tear in the corner of his eye. It was the billionth time it happened, that day.

‘Caitlin? You’re the best thing that’s ever happened to me.’

‘I know.’, she grinned. ‘You said it in your wedding vows.’

He kissed her then, laughing weekly for a moment.

‘I’m not thanking Ralph for helping you fall in love with me.’

Caitlin laughed real loud at that. ‘That was all you, Cisco. All you.’

She was the one to kiss him then, and she didn’t stop for a long while. In fact, she only stopped when Sara, very lewdly, suggested they should crash the party and take it to the bedroom. All the other superheroes seemed to think it was a good idea, considering they started clapping and catcalling.

So Cisco opened up a breach, picked Caitlin up bridal style - hah! -, and took her straight to bed.

They had a wedding night to finish.


	3. #3 FAVORITE SEASON

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A night of drinking leads to a discussion about the most terrifying villains. Caitlin’s choice is surprising and it confuses Cisco.

Cisco had no idea how Team Flash Game Night turned into drinking and asking uncomfortable questions, but here they were.

They weren’t that drunk, but they weren’t sober either. They kept an order, as to whom asked the questions, and they all had to answer.

And it was Cisco’s first turn, so he asked a question he’d been sitting on for a few years.

‘Best villain? And by best, I mean the one that scared you the most.’

The answers were pretty unsurprising (mostly Reverse Flash, obviously), but then Caitlin actually thought a long while about what to answer. 

‘I mean, it’s Zoom, right?’, Cisco said. ‘He… hurt you the most.’

He remembered, vividly, how much pain Caitlin was in when she returned from his hold. He really pulled a number on her, she had nightmares about Jay and Zoom for months.

‘Not… really.’, Caitlin finally said. ‘Actually, it’s… it’s Savitar.’

‘Here, here.’, Iris said gravely. ‘He’s a close second of mine.’

Caitlin smiled, but it didn’t reach her eyes.

‘Why, though?’, Cisco couldn’t help but ask. ‘I mean, Frost helped him, yeah, but-’

‘It’s not about Frost. I mean, it is, kind of, but…’

She shook her head, clearly arranging her thoughts. When she spoke again, she was pointedly not looking at Barry.

‘Savitar scares me the most, because he did something horrible to me, for me. Something horrible, that helped me realize something incredible.’

‘What?’, Barry asked, clearly not understanding.

Caitlin explained, but it took a lot out of her to actually look at Barry.

‘The reason why Savitar was scary, it wasn’t just the speed, the ruthlessness. No, he was terrifying because he was you.’

‘Right.’, Barry flinched.

‘The horrible thing is it made me realize that everyone has an evil side. We’ve seen it before, countless times. Frost and Savitar, yes, but also… Reverb and Black Siren and…’ She took a deep breath, didn’t look at anyone. ‘It’s horrible to think that everyone in this room has the potential to be truly… fucking evil.’

She took a long drag from the bottle of wine she claimed as hers.

‘The incredible thing is’, she went on, ‘that it made me value it so much more, the fact you’re good people who want to help the world, not burn it.’

Of course, everyone cheered at that, and took a drink, before moving on to the next question.

Cisco couldn’t stop thinking about it for the rest of the night.

(｡♥‿♥｡)

He breached Caitlin home, and lingered in her living room.

‘What is it?’, she asked.

‘Can I ask a question? It’s been bugging me.’

She hummed, making herself comfortable on the armrest of her couch.

‘It’s about Savitar, isn’t it?’

‘Not… really.’, Cisco tilted his head. ‘You’re right, evil versions of us are terrifying, but… You’re the only one of us, of the ones we’ve seen, that-’

‘Got redemption?’

‘Changed her ways.’, Cisco corrected her. ‘So I just… don’t understand, how can you still be terrified of something like that happening, when you  _ know _ it can be undone?’

‘Because I know what it takes, to turn back, from dark to light.’

‘So you don’t think we have it in us.’

‘That’s not it.’, Caitlin rolled her eyes. ‘I know you all have the strength to do it, and I know that there’s a very slim chance that any of you will turn evil from this point on.’

‘Okay, then what-’

‘It leaves a mark, Cisco. It does damage.’ She pressed a hand on her chest. ‘Right here.’

That rendered him speechless.

‘I’m never going to… not hurt at the thought of all the bad things Frost did with Savitar. And I just, I love you too much to let you go through that.’

Cisco felt that like a punch to the gut. He opened his arms, expectedly.

She just kept looking at him.

‘Come on.’, he told her. ‘Hug me, damn it, or I’ll start crying.’

Caitlin chuckled at that, but she did get up and stepped into his arms. Cisco hugged her tightly, and she returned in, snuggling in his embrace.

‘I’m okay, I promise I am.’, she whispered against his neck.

‘I love you either way.’, he said quickly. ‘You know that, right? Anyway, whatever happens, however good or evil we are, I’ll always love you.’

The hands that were on Cisco’s back suddenly turned cold. Freezing cold.

He took a small step back, not enough to let go of her, but enough to be able to see that her hair was blonde and her eyes were shining blue.

‘Anyway?’, Frost teased.

Cisco considered it, but only for a moment. Then he went back to hugging her, even tighter than before. Frost grumbled, but she did hug him back.

And when Cisco kissed her forehead, she melted, metaphorically speaking, in his arms.

‘You love us anyway, but in what way do you love us?’

Cisco gulped. ‘I’ll tell you later.’

‘When I’m less cold?’

‘No, when I’m less shaky.’

She chuckled at that, stopped the hug. Frost winked at him.

‘Don’t tell us, okay? Show us.’

With that, she turned back to Caitlin. And as much as Cisco wanted to kiss her, he didn’t. There will be a better time and place for that, he’ll make sure of it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yo. Savitar was, to me, absolutely terrifying and utterly exciting.


	4. #4 FAVORITE STORYLINE

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Cisco has always looked for love in all the wrong places.

Cisco was his couch, in the already patented position: sweatpants, old Star Wars tshirt, feet crossed over the coffee table, fluffy pillow in his lap, cozy blanket around his shoulders, tub of ice cream in his hands, his favorite movie on tv, Caitlin by his side.

Yes, Cisco’s patented I-Got-Dumped position.

It happened so often, they had a patented system by now. Caitlin and him didn’t even have to talk about it. He’d just text her and she’d show up, with ice cream in her bag and a pair of leggings. Cisco would give her an old shirt of his (more often than not, she’d end up stealing it), she’d spend the night on the couch.

Cisco lost track of what number I-Got-Dumped sleepover this was, but something felt different this time.

He took Kamilla dumping him a lot worse than he should have.

Sure, he loved her. They’ve been together for kind of a long while, but, in retrospect, he dated Gypsy for a longer time, and he didn’t feel as miserable when they broke it off.

Maybe it was because he couldn’t resent Kamilla. She got a job in Metropolis, working for the Daily Planet, working with Superman. It was a huge opportunity for her, and Cisco was genuinely happy for her.

Objectively, if Cisco actually stopped to think about it, he knew that he and Kamilla were due for a breakup. Something just didn’t work, as it should, ever since he came back from his trip.

So why the hell did he feel like he was breaking apart?

(｡♥‿♥｡)

After the movie ended, Caitlin turned off the tv and turned around on the couch, to face him. She took the empty carton of ice cream out of his hands, and brought her knees up to her chest.

‘Do you wanna talk about it?’, she whispered.

Cisco shook his head.

‘Then why am I here?’

That startled him. ‘Cause you’re my best friend.’

‘Yes, and because I am your best friend, I think you should talk about it.’

Again, Cisco shook his head, stubbornly so.

Caitlin sighed. ‘Would you, at least, be willing to listen to me?’

Slowly, Cisco nodded.

‘You’re not doing so well.’, she started, making him snort. ‘I mean, you weren’t… this bad when Gypsy-’

‘I know.’

‘And why do you think that is?’

Cisco shrugged, refused to look at her.

‘I think it’s because Kamilla was your first relationship after the cure.’

That, Cisco didn’t understand what that had to do with anything.

‘You took the cure because you wanted a chance at a normal life.’, she spoke gently. ‘A wife, kids, a family. Kamilla was that, for you. I mean, she was the living embodiment of your… dream.’

‘And that’s what it was, right? A stupid dream.’

‘That’s not what I’m saying, Cisco. I have no doubt that you love Kamilla, but you put… a lot of hope into this relationship.’

He swallowed thickly. ‘I did love her, but… I knew it wasn’t working. Logically, I knew this was coming.’

With great difficulty, he turned to look at her. ‘You may be right.’

Caitlin smiled at him, sadly.

She was absolutely beautiful, Cisco had always been aware of that. Even tonight, wearing no makeup, with her hair in a messy bun, wearing his old Doctor Who shirt, she looked absolutely stunning.

‘How come you stopped dating?’, he found himself asking.

Surprised by the question, Caitlin’s eyes grew wide. She tilted her head to the side and regarded him curiously. Still, she answered.

‘I realized that I was looking for love in all the wrong places. So I stopped looking.’

‘What’s the right place to look for love, then?’, he frowned.

Caitlin didn’t answer. She smiled at him, a spark in her eyes that made Cisco understand that she knew the answer, but didn’t want to tell him.

He thought about it for a moment longer. Frowning, he narrowed his eyes at her.

‘Is that what I’ve been doing? Looking for love in all the wrong places?’

‘Maybe.’, she smiled. ‘Kendra was half of a soulmate pair that went back centuries. Gypsy was the longest long distance relationship you could have ever had and Kamilla was... ‘

‘What?’, he asked when she didn’t go on. ‘Tell me, I can take it.’

‘Kamilla was the first opportunity to cross your path. You made it work, for a while, but I don’t think she was what you needed.’

‘Needed?’

‘You’re looking for _Forever_ , Cisco.’, she smiled sadly. ‘You’re not going to find that in a coffee shop.’

‘So where’s the right place, huh? Where should I be looking for my Forever?’

‘Same place I should.’, she chuckled, weekly. ‘Closer than we think.’

He stared at her, something new slotting into place inside of his chest. It wasn’t new, not really, but it was stronger than it ever was before.

Really, Kamilla broke up with him three hours ago. His heart usually took longer to remind him just how much he loved Caitlin.

‘What does that mean?’, he asked her, voice shaking.

Caitlin didn’t answer, at first. Cisco watched as she gathered her stuff and ordered an uber. Before she left, though, she came by his side.

Gently, she played his hair for a little while, pushed strands of it behind his ears. Then she grabbed his cheek and gently, very gently, kissed his forehead.

‘You know what it means.’, she whispered, her voice cracking. ‘If you’ll ever be ready, I’ll be here.’

With that, Caitlin left, leaving Cisco to spend alone one of the most confusing nights of his life.

(｡♥‿♥｡)

For the longest time, Cisco thought he hallucinated the whole thing, or had a weird vibe, because Caitlin acted like nothing happened.

Like everything was normal, there was no change in the way she acted towards Cisco, be it working side by side in the lab, Frost and Vibe helping the Flash, or drinking nights with the team.

So Cisco did the exact same thing, acted like nothing happened.

But something did happen, and it became a painful reality a few months later, when Cisco accidentally eavesdropped on a conversation Iris and Caitlin were having.

They were talking about kids, about how Iris and Barry were thinking of trying to have some.

And Caitlin said that she had always wanted children, but not just for the sake of having them. She wanted a child with someone she loved, someone she trusted. Someone that she worked well with, someone whom she could spend the rest of her life with, and do a better job at raising their child that her parents did.

Cisco, on shaky legs, ran out of there.

Because it was the first time that he heard Caitlin say those words. And that meant… Alongside everything, it meant they were on the same page.

(｡♥‿♥｡)

It took another month for Cisco to man up. The ball was in his court, Caitlin made that clear.

So he took a deep breath and one morning, he approached her in the Cortex.

‘Caitlin? I need your help with something.’

‘Sure. What?’

‘I need you to help me look for something.’

Caitlin frowned at first, but Cisco could pinpoint the exact moment she realized what he was talking about, because she froze, looking at him with big eyes.

‘Where are we looking?’

‘Close.’, he smiled. ‘Right under our noses, actually.’

She returned the smile, slowly but surely. There was hesitance in her eyes, but also excitement. Clearly, she was excited.

Cisco took a deep breath. ‘Let me take you out to dinner? Maybe a movie?’

‘Yeah.’, she said quickly. ‘Yes, I’d like that.’

It was difficult for Cisco to step away, to go on with his day and not sweep Caitlin off her feet. But he did it, because he knew they had Forever in front of them.


	5. #5 FAVORITE PARALLELS

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You know when Frost had a panic attack and Cisco helped calm her down? Well I was expecting a very different outcome. [This outcome.](https://sssssssim.tumblr.com/post/615543601516199936/just-breathe-when-i-kissed-you-you-held)

The first time Cisco saw Frost have a panic attack, he didn’t handle it too well. Sure, he was comforting, he spoke in a soft voice and he gently touched her shoulder, but it wasn’t too helpful.

He did a lot of research afterwards, about how to help someone who was having panic attacks. The information was all over the place. It gave a lot of solutions, but they were conflicting.

At the end of the day, Cisco figured it was a different way for different people. At least he had a few ideas of what to try, if Frost ever had another panic attack.

(｡♥‿♥｡)

The biggest mistake will turn out to be Cisco’s love for tv.

For all tv, be it good, bad, made for teenagers, with werewolves or… okay, Cisco liked watching bad tv that didn’t make him use a lot of his brain but sometimes made him use his heart.

In his off time, Cisco filled his time with tv like that. And that month, Cisco was binge watching Teen Wolf.

So when Frost had another panic attack, all Cisco could see was Lydia, kissing Stiles’ panic away.

(｡♥‿♥｡)

Unlike last time, when Frost panicked in the middle of it, this time, it came after everything happened.

Team Flash had dealt with a metahuman that had some form of mind control. It was a difficult thing to fight against, pretty much impossible. Frost was the only one who was able to do it, and she saved the day, and saved them all, as the rest of Team Flash was being mind controlled.

It was pretty horrible.

So when, after they made it back to Star Labs, Frost disappeared, Cisco went looking for her.

She was in Caitlin’s lab, in a corner, on the ground. She was breathing very quickly, she was crying and it was clearly a panic attack, but it was a lot worse than last time.

It was horrible, to see someone as strong as Frost, break apart like that.

Cisco kneeled before her, called her name. She didn’t even look up at him.

He gently touched her shoulder, and when she didn’t flinch away, he grabbed her with a bit more pressure. Not to hurt, just to make her feel his presence.

‘Try to slow your breathing.’, he said gently.

‘I can’t.’ It took a lot out of Frost, to say that out loud.

Plan A didn’t work, so Cisco switched to Plan B.

He grabbed her cheeks. ‘Shh, look at me.’

Fuck, Cisco didn’t have a plan B.

And as he looked into Frost’s eyes, as he wiped her tears away and hated the way she was shaking in his hold, Cisco could not think of one god damn thing he read in all those articles.

All he could think about was that stupid Teen Wolf scene.

He couldn’t stand to see Frost so desperate, in so much pain. 

So he kissed her.

He closed his eyes, said a prayer in hope he won’t get punched, and pressed his lips to Frost’s.

It took a few moments, which felt like a lifetime to Cisco, but Frost did calm down.

Only when he was sure she wasn’t shaking anymore, did Cisco stop the kiss. He took his hands off her cheeks and he… stared at her. It took awhile for him to snap out of it, and then he all but collapsed on the ground in front of her.

‘You good?’, he asked, hating how affected he sounded.

She nodded. ‘How’d you do that?’

‘I read once that holding your breath could stop a panic attack. And I saw it on a tv show. So… when I kissed you, you held your breath.’

‘I did?’, her voice was shaky.

‘Yeah, you did.’, he swallowed thickly. ‘I didn’t think it would work, but it did.’

Frost was looking at him with a very shocked look. Shocked, but soft as well. Too soft, softer than she ever was.

‘Thanks.’, she finally said.

Cisco, despite himself, snorted. ‘You’ll be okay.’, he told her gently. ‘It’s just that some days are harder than most. And I’m guessing stopping that metahuman by yourself wasn’t easy.’

She shook her head. ‘Stopping him was easy. Seeing you was…’

‘Yeah.’, Cisco sighed when she didn’t go on. ‘Yeah, it was.’

They were silent for a few moments, Frost still sniffling by his side.

‘Cisco?’, he whispered. ‘Thanks.’

‘Don’t mention it. I’m here for you, even if you run away.’

Nothing else was said on the matter.

(｡♥‿♥｡)

Two months later, Frost cornered him in the break room, glaring at him, good naturally.

‘I’ve been watching Teen Wolf.’

‘Okay?’

‘Because you said you were watching it.’

‘Right.’ He had no idea where this was going. ‘Well, do you like it?’

She hummed. ‘You didn’t tell me.’

‘Tell you what?’

‘That the panic attack kiss happened between the second most canon ship on the show.’

Ah. Yeah, Cisco understood it, then. And he gulped.

‘It doesn’t matter.’

‘Doesn’t it?’, she narrowed her eyes.

‘No? I mean, why would it?’

‘Did you finish the show?’

‘Uh, no, I took a break. I-’

‘Finish it.’, Frost ordered. ‘And get back to me afterwards.’

‘Uhm.’ Again, Cisco gulped. ‘Why?’

Caitlin came back then, looking at him in a very hesitant way.

‘Because it  _ does  _ matter.’

And then she left, all but ran out of there.

(｡♥‿♥｡)

Needless to say, Cisco went home and finished the whole goddamn tv show.

So the next evening, he was exhausted, wearing two days old clothes, unshaved, hair a mess. His heart was a mess.

Everything was a mess, because Lydia and Stiles ended up together.

And he was knocking on Caitlin’s door, and he had words prepared. Really, he had a whole speech and it was thoughtful, and emotional and it all flew out the window when Caitin opened her door.

Caitlin opened the door, but Frost was quick to take over.

‘Is it just you, or is it Caitlin, too?’

That’s what came out of his mouth, but somehow, she understood.

‘Cisco, we do everything together nowadays. Now, if you’ll tell me what exactly you’re talking about, we can-’

He cut her off, pretty violently, by grabbing her cheeks and kissing her. This time, he was the one shaking, but it wasn’t in panic.

It was quite the opposite of it.

‘Took you long enough.’, Frost teased against his lips.

‘At least it didn’t take me as long as Lydia.’

She cackled, as she pulled him inside of the apartment. They were going to start watching Vampire Diaries, apparently. 


	6. #6 FAVORITE CISCO WARDROBE

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Caitlin likes how he looks in the Vibe suit. He likes how she takes it off of him.

(｡♥‿♥｡)

The life of a superhero was a weird one. The love life of a superhero was even weirder.

Caitlin and Cisco got together at the end of a week from hell, helping Superman fight General Zod. They were both exhausted, bruised and bloodied, still shaking from all the near death experiences. And they were both desperate, irrationally so, so they kissed like they were going to die the next day, and fell asleep in each other’s arms.

After that, they took it at a slower pace, not wanting to screw things up. They went on dates, out for dinner or movies, they stayed in and cuddled on the couch, they made out. They made out a lot, but never took it past that point.

Even if it was clear that they both wanted it. Which brought them to their current predicament.

(｡♥‿♥｡)

Cisco had half a mind to just… not answer the phone the next time Clark called.

This time, it was a metahuman who could hack any type of technology with a touch of a finger. Clark, bless his sweet kryptonian soul, didn’t know a lot about tech or code, so he asked Cisco’s help, specifically.

Of course he helped. Damn it, he helped a lot. He spent a week in Metropolis, not sleeping, not eating, drinking too much caffeine, spending 20 hours a day in front of a computer.

And, in the end, he had to do some actual fighting, too. Sure, Superman had his back, but by that point, it was personal for Cisco. So he dealt with the metahuman, using his hacking knowledge, but his gauntlets as well.

He breached himself to his living room, wanting nothing more than to pass out.

He was exhausted, physically and emotionally. He was a sweaty mess, his suit needed a deep clean wash. His hair was tangled, his shoes were scruffed, he needed to sleep but he knew there was too much adrenaline in his blood to be able to do that.

‘Cisco?’, he heard a sweet voice, coming from the hallway to his bedroom.

Caitlin came into view. She just woke up, she wasn’t wearing pants but was wearing one of Cisco’s sleeping shirts.

It was the most beautiful sight he had ever seen and he felt like crying.

‘What are you even doing here?’, he breathed out.

‘I missed you. Figured I’d miss you less in a bed that smelled like you.’

She made his way to his side, stopping a short distance away. Gently, she pushed his hair back.

‘Did you deal with the metahuman?’

Cisco nodded.

‘Was it as bad as you look?’

He glared at her, but it lacked strength. Because it was true.

‘Yeah.’, he sighed.

Caitlin hummed, gently pressing her lips to his for a brief moment. ‘What do you need?’

‘I have no idea.’, Cisco admitted. ‘I’m exhausted but I don’t think I can sleep.’

He tilted his head. ‘I probably need a shower.’

She kissed him again, longer this time. Much longer. Slowly, Caitlin wrapped her hands around him, kissing him properly.

Of course, Cisco returned the kiss before he even realized what was happening.

But it wasn’t long before Caitlin’s passionate making out session turned into sweet kisses. Her hands, though, they were roaming all over his body.

When she stopped, she looked to where her hands were still moving over the jacked Cisco was wearing.

‘Did I ever tell you how much I love the suit?’

‘No, you haven’t.’, Cisco grinned at her flirty tone. ‘Really, you haven’t.’

‘Well I do love it.’, she smiled back. ‘Really, you look the sexyest when you’re wearing it.’

‘I do?’, he asked with a stupid grin on his face.

‘Yes, I’ve never seen you look hotter. Until now, that is.’

With that, Caitlin started unzipping the jacket. Slowly, pointedly, looking into his eyes and licking her lips.

His jacket fell to the floor, his shirt followed and then Caitlin reached for the zipper of his pants.

That’s when he snapped out of it, and said her name, an evident question.

Caitlin grinned. ‘Come on, let’s shower.’

Cisco gulped, but didn’t argue. He didn’t argue about absolutely anything that she threw his way.

(｡♥‿♥｡)

Caitlin was an excellent doctor and an even better girlfriend.

Apparently, after all that he went through, what he needed to relax was just some mindblowing sex.

And, let it be known that, while Cisco looked good in the Vibe suit, Caitlin looked even better wearing just the jacket. 


	7. #7 FAVORITE CAITLIN WARDROBE

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Cisco likes it when a little bit of Frost’ style bleeds into Caitlin’s wardrobe.

(｡♥‿♥｡)

When Cisco saw Caitlin entering his workshop, his jaw dropped. She looked… Well… It wasn’t like he had never seen her wearing such clothes before, because he had.

Caitlin had on a tight pair of black jeans, ripped at the knees, a cream tank top that stopped just above the waist, and a black bralette underneath, the straps visible across her chest. She also wore a choker with shiny studs.

He had seen her wearing this exact same outfit once before, when he met her at the bar she was working in, after the Killer Frost debacle.

‘Stop looking at me like that.’, she narrowed her eyes.

‘You look great.’, Cisco told her truthfully. ‘I like it when you go a little punk.’

Caitlin scoffed, but her expression soon turned hesitant. 

‘Even though’, he went on, ‘Frost is, usually, the punk one in this relationship.’

‘We like different things, but we’re… accepting of the other’s choices. And this is, I mean, it’s clothes.’, she was very flustered. ‘It’s  _ just  _ clothes. On this, we can compromise.’

‘So you pulled out the ripped jeans.’, Cisco nodded in understanding.

‘And there will be times when Frost will pull out the pencil skirts.’

He grinned, couldn’t help himself. ‘You look hot anyway.’

Caitlin blushed, but she also rolled her eyes and punched his shoulder. ‘Stop it.’

‘No, seriously.’, he chuckled. ‘You look very hot, whatever you wear. Be it ripped jeans, pencil skirts, super fancy dresses or sweatpants.’

She glared at him. ‘Stop flirting, Cisco. Or I’ll start thinking you mean it.’

With that, Caitlin turned around and started walking out of there. Before she left the workshop, he managed to recover.

‘What if I mean it?’

She stopped at that, slowly turned around to face him. Her eyes were wide, in shock, but not in disgust.

‘Then you should do something about it.’, Caitlin said slowly.

‘Yeah?’, he gulped. ‘Like what? Maybe… ask you out to dinner?’

Her expression turned challenging. ‘Yes.’

‘Ohh-kay then. Tonight?’

‘Yes.’

She kept the stern expression for a moment longer, but then she snorted and blushed again.

‘Seriously, though.’, Cisco smiled softly. ‘Have dinner with me? More than just… our regular Friday night Big Belly Burger.’

‘Yeah.’, she smiled back. ‘I should change, right?’

‘No!’, he said quickly, strongly. ‘No, you definitely shouldn’t. You should always wear whatever you want.’

Cisco gulped, tilting his head, looking at the line of Caitlin’s tank top, where he could see the black lace of the bralette she was wearing.

‘I’m gonna like taking it off you, anyway.’

‘Cisco!’, she yelped. ‘I can’t believe you said that!’

‘Me neither, but…’, he was blushing, but he managed to grin at her. ‘Doesn’t make it any less true.’

Caitlin huffed, started walking out again.

‘You’re not doing that on our first date!’, she yelled.

Cisco laughed really hard at that, but then he jumped in excitement. He had a date!


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Cisco had said that he was Caitlin’s family, but it was about time they’d make it official.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Want a gifset of it? [Here!](https://sssssssim.tumblr.com/post/180339782046/what-about-your-hands)

They have been together for three years, and have known each other for longer than that. Last year, they brought a house together.

There was absolutely no doubt in Caitlin’s mind, that Cisco was the one for her. She didn’t want to think about the last wedding she had, she just wanted to think about how they were going to live the rest of their lives together.

And about how to go about asking him to marry her. She knew that Cisco would never ask her, because he probably thought she didn’t want to marry again, not after Ronnie. He always acted just a little bit weird when the topic came up. They never talked about it, but their friends sometimes asked.

Caitlin had to be the one to do it, she just didn’t know how.

She had gone through every possible scenario in her head: putting the ring in a lava cake, taking him to a super fancy restaurant, on a vacation to a remote island in Hawaii, writing the question with a plane, asking at home, asking at Star Labs. Nothing felt right.

She kept the ring on her at all times, just in case an opportunity arose, but it never did.

Until one regular Tuesday evening.

Star Labs had a pretty slow day, so when they got home, they actually had a chance to cook. Nothing too complicated, but Cisco did turn on the grill, and they ate dinner in the backyard.

Cisco made a joke. That’s all it was, a stupid joke.

‘I see how it is. I gotta be the one to clean the table in this family.’

That’s all it took, that one word.

Caitlin stopped him from cleaning the table.

‘Wait. Just… Please, Cisco, just wait. I have to get something.’

He frowned, but did as asked. Caitlin ran inside and grabbed the ring from her bag, taking it out of its box and putting it in the pocket of her sweatpants.

Cisco was waiting for her expectedly. ‘I genuinely thought you were gonna bring desert.’

She took a deep breath, settled her nerves and sat down as close to Cisco as she could get, grabbing both of his hands in hers.

‘Okay, this is serious, I can see it in your eyes.’, he frowned. ‘What’s wrong?’

‘Nothing.’, Caitlin shook her hand. ‘Nothing’s wrong. In fact, everything is… perfect.’

Of course, he frowned some more at that. ‘Talk to me.’, he said very gently.

‘I’m trying.’ She took a deep breath, kissed him quickly to gather strength.

Then, Caitlin started talking, softly but excited.

‘You called us a family. No, don’t look panicked, Cisco, we are. We are a family and it’s perfect.’

She took another deep breath.

‘Do you remember when Icicle… The first time around. You, your hands were injured-’

‘Ain’t forgetting that anytime soon.’

‘But you still went after him. And you said, you told me-’

‘That you’re family.’, Cisco smiled. ‘Yeah, I remember.’

She felt tears in the corner of her eyes, but Caitlin didn’t do anything to stop them.

‘We are family. I love you so much, I have a hard time believing it sometimes.’

‘I love you too, Caitlin. What are you-’

‘Let’s be a family, in all the sense of the word.’

She let go of his hands in order to take the ring out of her pocket.

It wasn’t incredible, but she knew Cisco was going to like it. A thin band, made out of white gold, with a simple design of parallel lines across it.

Cisco froze, staring at the ring. Caitlin ignored it, used her shaking hands to slip the ring on his finger.

‘Marry me?’, she whispered.

It took a few long moments, of Cisco staring at her, before he said something.

‘Isn’t the guy supposed to be the one to ask? And buy a ring?’

‘Were you ever going to ask?’, she countered.

He shook his head. ‘I didn’t think it was something you’d want.’

‘I know. I know that’s what you thought. But it is.’ She smiled at him. ‘I want to marry you, and I want to be your wife and for you to be my husband and-’

She got cut off, by Cisco grabbing her cheeks and kissing her. It was a little violent, a little desperate, but it was, still, perfect.

When he stopped the kiss, he stared at his hands on her cheek, he stared at the ring on his finger.

‘You haven’t answered.’, Caitlin chuckled, crying freely.

‘Babe… I got you a ring a year and a half ago.’

She laughed at that, laughed loudly, feeling like the happiest woman alive. 


	9. #9 FAVORITE CAITLIN QUOTE TO CISCO

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Cisco finds himself going back to one of Caitlin's speeches, the one where she convinced him that Cisco is just as important as Vibe.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [this speech, here](https://sssssssim.tumblr.com/post/180097878596)

When Cisco received the e-mail, he spent the whole day just going back to it, thinking he hallucinated the whole thing.

But he didn’t. It was true and real, the MIT Engineering faculty really did invite Cisco Ramon to hold a talk about the hardware he had developed in his time at Star Labs.

(｡♥‿♥｡)

Cisco wanted to do it, because the thought of talking about his tech to young minds that were just starting, it got him very excited.

But he was also terrified of talking in public, and underlining everything, he still thought his tech wasn’t that big of a deal, not enough to be interesting.

There was a massive internal turmoil inside of Cisco’s heart and brain, so he did what he usually did everytime that happened: he went to Caitlin. 

(｡♥‿♥｡)

‘Congratulations!’, she grinned and hugged him tightly. ‘That is so cool! I’ll proofread the presentation, of course.’

He flinched at that.

‘Cisco? You  _ are  _ doing it, right?’

‘Uhm…’

Caitlin sighed. ‘What’s the problem?’

‘I didn’t come to you just for proofreading. I… need more than that.’

‘What do you need?’, she asked gently.

‘I need you to give me the speech, again. That one speech, where you tell me Cisco Ramon is… just as important as Vibe.’

‘Oh, Cisco.’, she sighed. But Caitlin also hugged him tightly, in a way she never really did before.

She tucked his head in the crook of her neck, wrapping her arms around his shoulders, gently running her fingers through his hair. Cisco felt completely enveloped by Caitlin, then, and it was a really nice feeling. It calmed him down immediately, made him feel… super warm inside. And loved.

It made him feel incredibly loved, which made him shake, a little.

‘I’m not going to give you the speech again.’, Caitlin said gently. ‘Because you know it, Cisco. You know that what you have inside here, your brain’, she paired this with gently scratching his scalp, ‘is important, and just as strong as Vibe.’

He hugged her back, then, placed his arms around her waist. It made Caitlin hum, clearly pleased.

‘This is an amazing opportunity. It’s an opportunity for everyone to see just how brilliant you are, to acknowledge the fact that your tech helped save the world a few times. And it’s a business opportunity, as well.’

‘What?’, he frowned heavily. 

‘All your tech is patented. You will be presenting it to the future engineers of the world, who will go on to make their own tech, and it’s likely they will find use in your work.’

‘That’s… a good point, actually.’

She let go of him, then, grinning wildly. ‘You’ve got this.’

‘I… probably do.’, Cisco nodded. ‘I’m smart and I know my tech. But I’m gonna need help with… everything else.’

‘I’ll help you.’

Caitlin kissed his cheek, then started talking quickly about all the stuff he needed to do. With a sigh and a held-back whine, Cisco got his tablet and started writing things down.

(｡♥‿♥｡)

Throughout the month that followed, Caitlin helped Cisco immensely. From helping him decide what tech he should showcase, to helping him write the presentation. From bringing him coffee and helping him take pictures of the tech, to forcefully taking him out to get food when he forgot to eat for a day.

It wasn’t like she was doing a lot more than she usually did, to take care of him. It was just that, in that month, Cisco was almost painfully aware of how much Caitlin cared for him.

And, in return, he was painfully aware of how much he cared about her, and how badly he wanted them to be together.

(｡♥‿♥｡)

Usually, he was able to ignore all of these thoughts and feelings. And he did manage it, up until the point he came back from MIT.

As soon as he texted her that he made it home safely, Caitlin came over. 

She was so excited to hear everything about how the presentation went, and she was so proud of him, so happy that he did it, and that he did it beautifully.

There was another speech, where the idea wasn’t that Cisco Ramon is just as important as Vibe. No, this time, Caitlin told him that she loved Cisco more than she did Vibe.

She didn’t say it in those exact words, but that was the idea, and Cisco was sure that he understood it perfectly.

He wasn’t sure that the love she had for him was the same type of love he had for her, but Cisco couldn’t wait, anymore.

In a fit of bravery, he cut Caitlin’s speech off, by kissing her cheek.

She was surprised, but she still smiled at him. ‘What was that for?’

‘Let me take you out to dinner.’, he breathed out.

Caitlin hummed, heavily amused. ‘You want to thank me for all the help I’ve been this past month?’

‘No. Well, yeah but…’, Cisco gulped. ‘I also want to take you out on a date. If that’s alright.’

Her eyes grew very wide at that, but only for a moment. Then Caitlin smiled, very gently and shily.

‘That’s… very alright. More than alright.’

They were both blushing like crazy and it was quite ridiculous, considering how many years they’ve known each other. It was because of that, that Cisco was able to say the next words out loud.

‘You know, I didn’t really think this through. It’s Friday night, we’re not gonna find-’

‘We can stay in.’, she laughed, taking off her heels and making herself comfortable on the couch. ‘You can still thank me properly, even if there’s Netflix involved.’

That sounded like a challenge, to Cisco’s ears, and he was more than happy to take it. He had fairy lights in the Christmas ornaments box, scented candles somewhere in the bathroom, and he could order some flowers, alongside the food. He definitely had a proper table cloth, somewhere, and he was pretty sure he had the ingredients needed to make some lava cakes.

With a grin, he made his way to the kitchen. ‘You just wait here a little. I’ve got a plan!’

He left the room to the delightful sound of Caitlin’s laughter. 


	10. #10 FAVORITE HUG

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A weird boardgame leads to recalling of good memories, and a surprising revelation.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [I LOVE THIS HUG, THEY'RE SO SOFT AND SO AM I](https://sssssssim.tumblr.com/post/616019436912230400/rule-number-one)

Every now and then, Team Flash would take the time to just hang for an evening. Sometimes, it was drinks at the bar, other times it was karaoke.

Tonight, it was boardgame night, and it was just the four of them: Iris, Barry, Caitlin and Cisco.

It was a pretty chill night, filled with laughter, snacks and cold beer. They played a few boardgames, but then Barry pulled out a game that looked like it came from the 60s. He had found it at a garage sale and it was called  _ The Friendship Game _ .

There was a stack of questions, each player had a number assigned to them and there was a simple spinner, to choose two of the players.

It was a ridiculous game, with embarrassing questions, only some of them outdated.

As it came to happen, Cisco got the first  _ real  _ question. The first question that made him become super emotional.

‘Okay, so, Cisco’, Barry grinned, reading off the card, ‘tell us the best hug you shared with…’, he spun the spinner. ‘Caitlin!’

Of course, Cisco’s eyes immediately went to Caitlin. She looked extra cute that evening, dressed casually with her hair braided messily on top of her head. Her eyes glinted as she looked to Cisco, and there was a very teasing grin on her lips.

‘Yeah, Cisco. Tell us about our best hug.’

The thing was, Cisco didn’t even need to think about it.

Over the years, they have shared a lot of hugs, and he vividly remembered most of them. But there was one that stood out more than most. And he wasn’t sure he had a good reason for it.

They all saw his hesitation, but they encouraged him with stupid jokes and a beer refil.

‘Come on, Cisco.’, Caitlin smiled. ‘It can’t be that embarrassing.’

‘It’s not embarrassing. It’s just…’ He didn’t go on, instead he did his best to relax and keep his tone light, a lot more lighter than all the things he was feeling.

‘We were in Antarctica, in the ice lab. There was a lot going on, but the bottom line is, you agreed to help me with finding a meta cure.’

There was recognition in Caitlin’s eyes, but only a little. ‘I remember something, yes, but... Why is that one the best?’

Cisco swallowed thickly, and looked away from her. ‘There was a lot going on then, with you and your dad, with me and my powers, with… everything. But you, you agreed to find a cure. Even if you didn’t want to, even if you knew it was dangerous. Even if you knew I was going to take it, and you knew it was the wrong call, for me.’

‘But you did it because I wanted it.’ With that, he managed to look at Caitlin.

She was smiling softly at him, a swarm of emotions in her eyes. Honestly, Cisco probably looked worse.

‘You guys are so cute.’, Iris cooed. ‘Really giving Barry and I a run for Best BFFs ever.’

Cisco bit back the response, because he wanted to point out that the West-Allens were married, whereas he and Caitlin were not. Even though he had dreamt of it, before.

He shook his head and laughed, and Caitlin was quick to join in.

The heavy moment passed, and Iris took her turn, telling them about the most embarrassing letter, aka text, she ever got from Cisco.

(｡♥‿♥｡)

It all went to hell five rounds later, when Caitlin had to say a secret about Cisco.

‘Oh, this is gonna be so embarassing.’, Cisco groaned theatrically.

But he straightened his back and across the table, locked eyes with Caitlin.

‘Come on, lay it on me. I can take it.’

Caitlin took a deep breath and she wet her lips, before speaking in a near whisper.

‘The hug in Antarctica, when it happened… I had already started to fall in love with you.’

Cisco’s jaw dropped.

‘Maybe I can’t handle it.’, he breathed out.

Caitlin looked away at that.

‘Cisco?’, Barry said gently. ‘You can handle it, buddy.’

With that, he took Iris’ hand and flashed them out of the room.

Cisco and Caitlin just stared at each other for a while.

‘Are you serious?’, he finally asked.

‘Yes.’

‘Why haven’t you said anything in all this time?’

Caitlin shrugged. ‘There was never a good enough moment.’

‘And this is?’, Cisco shrieked, incredulously, pointing to the game between them. ‘Iris and Barry are 110% listening in.’

She winced at that, quickly getting up from her chair. ‘You’re right. Breach me home?’

‘I-’

‘Breach us to my place?’, Caitlin said pointedly. ‘Where we can talk about this?’

Of course, Cisco did just that. In the short minutes it took them to gather their things and say awkward goodbyes to their friends, Cisco’s mind and heart worked a mile a minute.

So by the time they were standing in Caitlin’s living room, he just had one question.

‘Are you sure?’, he stared into her eyes. ‘This is not… you can’t take this back. I can’t… handle that.’

‘I’m sure.’, Caitlin said strongly. ‘I’ve been sure for a long while. And, Cisco…’

She blushed, looking down. ‘And I know this isn’t new for you, either. You’ve thought about this before.’

‘Extensively.’, he was quick to say, making her look back up at him.

There was hesitance in her eyes, and straight up fear and Cisco could not stand for it.

‘You know what’s the best thing about  _ The Friendship Game _ ?’

She frowned at the change of topic, but didn’t interrupt him.

‘We could play it again, in a year or two or ten, and have very different answers.’

‘My answer is not going to change.’, Caitlin said strongly.

Cisco shook his head and spoke quickly and just a little bit desperately. ‘That’s not what I meant. I meant like… if you would have had to answer the favorite kiss question tonight, you couldn’t have, because we haven’t kissed. But next year, if you have to answer the favorite kiss question, then maybe you’ll say tonight.’

Because he spoke so quickly, he knew Caitlin’s brain would have to take a moment to process his words. He didn’t let her have that.

Quickly, he grabbed her cheeks and kissed her. He didn’t linger, pulling away immediately, checking her reaction. He was terrified that he had screwed everything up.

But he didn’t, because Caitlin smiled wildly and kissed him properly.


	11. #11 FAVORITE AFFECTIONATE TOUCH

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> All of them. A L L O F T H E M.

Cisco was a very tactile person, Caitlin had learned this very early in their relationship.

Caitlin was not. It took her a long time to get used to the way Cisco touched her.

He took absolutely no mind to it. Cisco just did as he felt, he didn’t overthink it.

He put a hand on her shoulder to catch her attention.

He put a hand on her back to guide her through a room.

He let their fingers brush when they were handling coffee cups.

He pushed her hair back when she was working on something and had her hands full.

He leaned on her shoulder when he was tired or drunk.

He pressed their knees together when they sat next to each other on the couch.

He let his fingers press into her skin when she was bleeding and he helped her take off her suit.

He grabbed her hand when he wanted her to follow him.

He cradled her head when she was crying.

He pushed his fingers into her back when they were hugging.

He ran his fingers over her wrist when he had to draw her blood.

He elbowed her stomach when he was scheming something.

He wrapped an arm around her shoulders when he was goofing around.

He grabbed her hand when she was wearing heels and going up stairs.

He pressed his fingers to her cheek when he woke her up after a battle.

He squeezed her fingers when she was distressed.

He wiped away the smeared food on her lips.

He banged their hips together when he was in a good mood.

He grabbed her arm to show support.

He always initiated a fist bump when they solved something.

He ran his fingers through her hair when she needed comfort.

He grabbed her hips when they danced.

It was all normal, for Cisco.

For Caitlin, it was always a skip of the heart.

(｡♥‿♥｡)

Sometimes, he did more. It wasn’t just a soft, affectionate touch, but a caress.

At first, it wasn’t often at all. But as the years passed, and the experiences they shared multiplied, it was more and more often.

Caitlin thought, for the longest of times, that she was imagining it. But at one point, a short time after he and Kamilla broke up, it became impossible to believe that. It became impossible to ignore.

The ways in which Cisco touched her were the same, but they were a lot more often, and nowadays, they were paired with a very particular look in his eyes.

Something very soft, that spoke of longing.

And, somewhere along the way, Caitlin began to feel the same longing, every time Cisco touched her.

She knew she wouldn’t be able to keep quiet about it, but the level of desperation surprised her.

(｡♥‿♥｡)

They were fighting a metahuman with fire powers.

It wasn’t the first one, and it won’t be the last, but this one proved to be one hell of challenge.

Frost did her best, and Caitlin helped as much as she could. But it was… difficult, and she felt Frost slipping away.

The last thing she remembered was her friends surrounded by flames, Cisco screaming in pain, and a rage like neither her nor Frost had ever felt before.

Everything went dark.

(｡♥‿♥｡)

Caitlin woke up in the med bay. She knew it even before she opened her eyes, because of the very distinct smell.

‘Hey.’, she heard Cisco say, felt his fingers pressing gently on her temple.

Everything came back to her then, and she sat up, gasping.

‘You’re okay.’, Cisco told her gently. ‘Your body was burned, pretty bad, but Frost agreed to knock you out until your healing did it’s job.’

‘What about-’

‘We’re all fine.’, he cut her off, grabbed her hand in both of his. ‘We had minor burns and Barry had a bit more, but he healed them quickly.’

‘Show me.’, Caitlin said, already pawing at Cisco’s body.

He gently took her hands away, and lifted his sleeves. There were a few burn marks, but…

‘These look old.’

‘You were asleep for a week.’, Cisco said gently. ‘I don’t know why, but your healing factor doesn’t seem to work as fast on burns. Ironically enough.’

For the first time since she woke up, Caitlin took stock of her body. She could tell exactly where the burns were, because the skin itched and stinged, at the same time.

‘You obliterated that metahuman, but it took a lot out of you.’

Cisco’s eyes were very shiny and his next words came out shaky.

‘You were asleep for a week, Caitlin. You scared me.’

In that moment, two things happened. One, Caitlin started crying. Two, she felt like if Cisco didn’t touch her, then, she was going to die.

She grabbed his hands, his arms, moved her fingers over his chest.

‘Please, just… please, Cisco.’

‘Hey, calm down.’, he was frowning, trying to push her hands away. ‘What’s wrong? Are you in pain, what-’

‘Hold me.’, she sobbed. ‘Please, Cisco, just hold me.’

He did so, even if it was clear he was confused. But Cisco did sit down next to her on the cot, and he did wrap his arms around Caitlin, one around the waist and the other around her shoulders. His fingers found their place in her hair and he gently shushed her.

Caitlin all but collapsed in his hold. She pressed her face into the crook of his neck and pushed her palms, flat on his chest.

And she cried. She cried and cried, for a long while, and Cisco held her, but it wasn’t enough.

‘Caitlin?’, he whispered. ‘You know I’m not one to judge a breakdown, but… what happened? What prompted this?’

‘Kiss me.’, Caitlin gasped.

Cisco froze at that. ‘W-what?’

‘Please, if you ever… if you ever thought of me like that, even if for just a moment, please, I just-’

‘Caitlin.’, he said her name strongly, put more force into his hold, managing to push her away, just enough to look at her. ‘What is happening?’

‘I feel better when you touch me. I always-‘, she hiccuped, looking away from him. ‘I care about you more than I should, and I need you.’

Because Cisco didn’t say anything, Caitlin had the time needed to gather the strength to look at him again.

He was staring in awe at her, but clearly hesitating. ‘I won’t kiss you now.’

Caitlin closed her eyes, the weight of the world falling over her.

Cisco kissed her temple and pressed their cheeks together, whispering softly. ‘Because you’re not at 100% right now. So I’m going to hold you very tight for the rest of the night, and in the morning, if that’s still what you want, you just have to say the word.’

That… actually made Caitlin feel better. She was still crying, but her heart felt better, so she nodded.

Gently, Cisco lied down on the cot and because it was only made for a person, Caitlin had to be almost on top of him. But he held her, held her tightly until she, eventually, calmed down and fell asleep.

(｡♥‿♥｡)

Caitlin woke up to the distinct sound of Barry flashing inside.

She remembered what happened, instantly, and she was incredibly relieved to realize that Cisco was still next to her, still holding her.

‘So I’m guessing Caitlin woke up?’, Barry whispered.

She opened one eye, just enough to see that Barry was blushing down to his chest and he was staring at them with wide eyes.

‘Make him go away.’, she whispered to Cisco.

‘Go away, Barry!’, Cisco said, just a bit louder.

‘I’m going!’, the other man grumbled, and he flashed away.

‘Wanna go back to sleep?’, Cisco whispered.

She shook her head, snuggled deeper into his hold.

‘Cisco?’

He hummed, clearly halfway back to being asleep.

‘Kiss me, please.’, she whispered.

He woke up at that. Caitlin’s eyes were still closed, but he felt him move, until she was laying on her back and he was half on top of her. 

‘Are you sure?’, he asked in a whisper.

Caitlin opened her eyes, saw that he was watching her with hesitation.

‘I’m 110% sure. And I’m 100% me.’

He took a deep breath before closing his eyes and kissing her.

As always, when Cisco touched her, Caitlin immediately felt better. But his kiss made her feel better than she had ever felt.

(｡♥‿♥｡)

Just a couple of minutes later, Barry’s voice was heard over the intercom:

‘Guys, I’m happy for you, really I am! But there are several pull out couches in the lounge. And you both have beds at home. Please, for the love of god, get out of here!’


	12. #12 FAVORITE GAZING INTO EACH OTHER’S EYES MOMENT

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Barry: Whatever’s in store for us, it can’t change what we mean to each other.  
> Caitlin, looking at Cisco: (｡♥‿♥｡)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [this scene](https://sssssssim.tumblr.com/post/189517809191/it-cant-erase-whats-in-our-hearts)

After Cisco told them, everyone was staring at him in various levels of distress.

It was pretty damn big, to be fair to them. Kamilla had gotten a job offer from the Daily Planet. She was going to move to Metropolis, and she asked Cisco to join her.

The thing, that Cisco hadn’t told his team, was that she just asked. And she admitted that she didn’t actually expect him to do it, but would be happy if he did.

Honestly, Cisco was conflicted. His first instinct was to tell her no, which held a lot of weight. His second instinct was to tell her yes, because he did love her and he did want to have a life with her.

But moving to Metropolis? Switch Team Flash for Team Superman? Let go of Star Labs and his friends in Central City? Cisco wasn’t sure about that.

That’s why he told his friends. Deep down, he wanted them to convince him to stay.

(｡♥‿♥｡)

‘That’s… big, Cisco.’, Barry said with a lot of hesitation.

‘Yup.’, he nodded. ‘Yeah, it is.’

‘Well, do you want to go?’, Iris asked, with a no-bullshit look.

He tilted his head. ‘Yeah, of course I do. I love Kamilla.’

After a long pause, it was Ralph that spoke. ‘That was a lie.’

Cisco glared at him.

‘I’m not saying you don’t love her.’, Ralph backtracked quickly. ‘I’m just saying, that maybe you don’t love her enough to pack up and leave everything behind.’

Cisco swallowed thickly, because Ralph was right and it was a difficult thing to admit.

Barry kind of exploded at that, went on a spiel about love and choices. Cisco listened, but only half heartedly.

But when Caitlin spoke, Cisco listened intently.

‘Whatever’s in store for us, it can’t change what we mean to each other. It can’t erase what’s in our hearts.’

Barry had said that before, and Cisco remembered, vividly, how Caitlin immediately turned to look at him. There were hearts in her eyes, then, and there were hearts in her eyes now.

But it was more than that, a lot more. Cisco didn’t understand.

‘Whatever you decide’, she went on, smiling without reaching her eyes, ‘it’s not going to change anything. You’ll still be our family, no matter where you are.’ She swallowed, her bottom lip quivering. ‘We love you, and we want you to be happy. No matter what.’

It was said strongly, so strongly it cut directly into Cisco’s heart. Caitlin was clearly trying not to cry, she was evidently in pain.

But she managed to smile at Cisco, grabbed his fingers and squeezed them tightly, before she said she had to go back to work and ran out of there.

There was silence, in her wake. It was, eventually, broken by Ralph.

‘What was that?’

‘I don’t know.’, Cisco breathed out.

Iris called his name, very gently. ‘That was another option.’

After she said it, Cisco understood what happened. He understood what Caitlin was feeling and what her words meant.

‘Fuck.’, he breathed out.

Barry hugged him then, very tightly. He told Cisco to take his time and think about it, and that they were going to be supportive no matter what. They just wanted him to do whatever he needed to be happy.

What a concept that was. What could he do to be happy?

(｡♥‿♥｡)

He didn’t say anything else to his friends, and they acted like nothing was out of the norm. Except for Barry and Ralph, who both tried to talk to him about it. Cisco managed to cut them off swiftly.

Caitlin acted normal, too, but he could see something was wrong, underneath it.

Cisco did a lot of thinking, a whole lot of thinking, and most of it involved Kamilla and Caitlin.

In the end, the decision wasn’t too hard to make. Not really.

What will be hard, for Cisco, will be the aftermath of this decision, and what he needed to do.

(｡♥‿♥｡)

Kamilla came to Star Labs to say goodbye to the team.

Cisco held himself back, watched her hug everyone, watched the way Caitlin’s heart broke as Kamilla said she’ll miss her.

After that, everyone was staring at Cisco. He ignored it, walked Kamilla out. It didn’t last long, they already did the whole teary eyed goodbye.

When he came back to the Cortex, he took a deep breath before turning to Barry and Iris.

‘I’m gonna need your help. Gotta be out of the apartment by tomorrow, but I get the keys to my new place next week.’

‘New place?’, Barry’s eyes grew wide.

‘Yeah.’

‘And where is that?’, Ralph asked gently.

Cisco smiled, a little, at that. ‘Williams and Stark.’

‘Isn’t that near Caitlin’s place?’, Iris all but shrieked.

He hummed, grinning and looking at Caitlin.

‘You’re staying?’, she asked shakily.

‘Of course I’m staying.’, he took a deep breath, fully prepared to explain himself.

But Caitlin cut him off. She smiled, clearly relieved, said a very soft ‘I’m glad, Cisco.’, and, once again, ran out of there.

Cisco expected that, he knew fully well that what he needed to do about Caitlin was going to be difficult.

‘You plan on doing something about that?’, Iris asked him.

‘Yeah.’, he didn’t hesitate. ‘But I think we both need a little more time.’

Everybody agreed on that, and they agreed to not say another word, not to him or Caitlin. Cisco was grateful for it.

(｡♥‿♥｡)

The next day, Caitlin was back to normal. She acted around Cisco like she usually did, like nothing was wrong.

Cisco didn’t do that.

He… got soft, a lot softer than usual. He let himself be as soft as he always wanted with Caitlin. That translated in more casual touches, in more hugs, in more coffee and chocolate deliveries. In more smiles and more beautiful memories.

In flirting.

He went on with it until he was sure that Caitlin noticed. Until she started blushing when he did it, until she looked at him like she was trying to decipher something.

Only then, did Cisco act.

(｡♥‿♥｡)

One evening, he offered to walk her home. They stopped for ice cream on their way, and by the time they made it to her building, Caitlin was giggling happily, with a healthy flush on her cheeks.

‘Wanna come up?’, she asked gently. ‘Watch some tv, order some proper food?’

‘I’m not going to do that.’, Cisco said first.

It made her frown, so he was quick to take her hand to let her know he wasn’t done talking, yet.

‘When Kamilla left, you said that whatever happens, it can’t change what we mean to each other.’

‘Yeah.’, Caitlin gently said. ‘What’s this about?’

‘I think that’s wrong. Kind of.’ He squeezed her fingers tighter, brought their joined hands to his chest.

‘I think that yeah, the love won’t go away, but it can change. In nature.’

Caitlin stopped frowning at that, her eyes growing a little wide.

‘I know it, actually.’, Cisco went on. ‘I don’t just think it, I know it. Because at the beginning, when we were working on the particle accelerator, I loved you like a sister. But then-’, his voice caught, and he had to pause, for a few moments, before he went on.

‘Through everything that’s happened, because of it or despite it, I’m not sure’, he chuckled weakly, ‘I don’t love like a sister anymore.’

Caitlin’s eyes were very shiny.

‘Then… how do you love me?’, she whispered.

Cisco was prepared for that question, he had thought days on end of his answer. That didn’t make it any less easy to say out loud.

But he did it, because he loved Caitlin with all his heart, and she needed to know.

‘I love you like you’re the love of my life and I’ve been an idiot to ever think otherwise.’

She whispered his name, shakily, in shock. Cisco smiled at her, kissed her knuckles before letting go of her hand and taking a step back.

‘I’m not going to come up today.’, he chuckled. ‘I’m gonna go, and let you… sit on it. Think about it. Whatever you… Whatever you choose, we’ll be okay.’

Caitlin just stared at him, eyes wide and shiny, chin quivering.

‘I’m not leaving till you go inside.’, Cisco pointed out. ‘It’s dark out, there’s hooligans.’

She snorted at that, snapping out of it.

‘I’ll-’

‘Yeah.’, he cut her off. ‘In your own time. Now get inside and go to bed. We have work tomorrow.’

‘Stop bossing me around.’, she mumbled. But then she chuckled and opened up the door to her building. ‘Night, Cisco.’

‘Good night, Caitlin. Sleep well.’

True to his word, he waited until Caitlin was safely inside the lobby. He quickly walked the short distance home, and once he was in the safety of his brand new apartment, Cisco screamed.

For three minutes straight.

It did little to calm him down, but he did manage to fall asleep.

(｡♥‿♥｡)

Caitlin didn’t show up for work the next day, but she did text, letting them know that she was fine and just taking a day off.

While the rest of the team thought nothing of it, Cisco knew better.

And sure enough, when he made it home at the end of the day, Caitlin was waiting for him in front of his building.

‘What’s up?’, Cisco asked, trying to sound casual. 

It went poorly, considering the look Caitlin threw his way.

‘I’m going to come up.’, she said with strength. ‘I’m going to see your new place, and we’re going to order some food and some beers. And we’re going to have a nice, relaxed, first date.’

Cisco’s heart immediately started beating like crazy in his chest.

‘Relaxed?’, he asked. ‘I’m not sure that’s… a possibility, right now.’

‘Yeah, me neither.’, she breathed out slowly. ‘I’m more nervous than I was before my residency exam.’

Cisco snorted at that.

‘But’, she went on strongly, ‘I’m willing to go through with it, because I love you like we’re going to spend the rest of our lives together.’

Those words made Cisco feel equally relieved and excited.

‘Oh, your face.’, Caitlin giggled.

‘Don’t make fun of me on our first date!’, he couldn’t help but screech.

It made her laugh. But it also made her grab his neck and kiss both of his cheeks, his forehead and the tip of his nose.

Cisco’s face was absolutely on fire.

‘I love your face.’, Caitlin whispered, letting go of him. ‘Now come on, we have a date.’

His instinctual reaction was to tease. ‘I love your face too, but I’m not loving how you’re bossing me around.’

She laughed brightly at that, and throughout the rest of the night, everytime Caitlin laughed at something Cisco said, he calmed down a little bit.

So much so, that by the end of the night, he was able to kiss Caitlin without making a fool of himself.


	13. #13 FAVORITE HEART-WARMING MOMENT

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> If Caitlin was hurt, then Cisco was sleeping on her couch. The type of hurt didn’t matter. A scraped knee, a broken bone, a broken mind, a broken heart.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [This is what I'm talking about.](https://sssssssim.tumblr.com/post/165013673856)

Caitlin woke up feeling disoriented.

The last thing she remembered was battling an alien from god knew where, and losing her grip on the situation. Clearly, she had passed out.

That didn’t explain why she was in her bed, at home. Wearing a pair of pajama bottoms, Frost’s favorite sleeping tank top, and her favorite fluffy socks.

But, after taking stock of her body, Caitlin realized that she wasn’t hurt. That was good. And she was hungry, which was even better. It meant her body was healing.

She headed for the kitchen, but stopped in the living room, because there was someone sleeping on the couch.

Caitlin didn’t startle. She recognized Cisco’s form immediately, and she wasn’t even surprised he was there.

If Caitlin was hurt, then Cisco was sleeping on her couch. If Cisco was hurt, Caitlin was sleeping on his couch. The type of hurt didn’t matter. A scraped knee, a broken bone, a broken mind, a broken heart.

They were always there for eachother, when it counted.

And tonight, Cisco brought her home, changed her into her most comfortable pajamas, and fell asleep on the couch.

She loved him, very much. And suddenly, she wasn’t hungry anymore. 

So she went to his side and gently ran her fingers through his hair.

Cisco woke up with a sleepy mumble of her name, before he managed to open his eyes.

‘What’s wrong?’, his eyes were a little more awake. ‘Are you still hurting? What-’

‘Scoot over.’, Caitlin said gently.

Cisco frowned. ‘Scoot over where? It’s a tiny couch.’

She huffed impatiently, before boldly touching Cisco, his chest and his hip, gently pushing him back. He moved, as much as he could, until he was properly pressed into the back of the couch. And then Caitlin lied down next to him, completely ignoring the tiny gasp that Cisco inhaled when he realized what she was doing.

At the end of it, Caitlin’s back was completely pressed to Cisco’s chest and she grabbed his hand, pulled it over across her chest.

Caitlin relaxed, sighed deeply and was ready for sleep to lull her again.

But then, Cisco sighed too, and he relaxed as well. He gently pressed his cheek into her shoulder and briefly strengthened his hold on her.

‘Are you okay?’, he whispered.

‘Yup.’

There was a lengthy pause, in which Caitlin counted Cisco’s breaths. There were six before he spoke again.

‘This is… odd. No, not odd, just new. Not… unwelcomed, but-’

‘Do you want me to move?’, she cut him off.

‘Uhm.’ She felt him swallow. ‘No, I don’t think I do.’

Caitlin couldn’t help but smile. ‘Good. Then go back to sleep.’

Cisco hummed, moved a little to make himself more comfortable. He pushed his free hand under Caitlin’s neck and threw one of his legs over hers.

Gently, so very gently, Cisco pressed a kiss to her bare shoulder.

‘Promise you’re okay?’, he whispered, even more slowly than before.

Caitlin turned around then. It took some maneuvering, but she managed to turn around and face him without falling off the couch. Though, to be fair, Cisco’s arm and leg wrapped around her were the main reason for that.

She smiled at him, rested one of her arms on his waist and pushed the other one to his chest.

‘I’m okay and I love you. Now go back to sleep.’

It was dark in the room, but Caitlin still saw that Cisco blushed. He spluttered something, but eventually decided against actually saying anything.

‘Good night, then.’, he finally whispered. ‘Wake me up if anything hurts.’

Caitlin was too close to sleep to actually respond.

(｡♥‿♥｡)

She woke up on top of Cisco, more or less. They had moved during the night. He was now laying on his back, and while Caitlin was pressed against the back of the couch, she was half on top of Cisco.

But his arms were still, somehow, around her waist.

Nothing hurt anymore, in that moment. There were no scraped knees, no broken bones, broken minds and definitely no broken heart.

In fact, her heart was on the complete opposite side of the spectrum.

This time, Cisco woke up with a small groan and a smack of his lips. When he opened his eyes and saw her, he smiled, very lovingly, made no move to disentangle them.

‘Hey.’

His voice was hoarse and his lips were dry, but his smile was real, as real as the love in his eyes and his warmth, slipping into Caitlin’s colder body.

She wasted no time, pressed her lips to Cisco. She did control herself, though, kept it sweet and gentle, until she was positive that he was okay with it.

That also took no time at all, so Caitlin stopped the kiss, waiting for him to say something. Which, of course, he did.

‘This was a real bad idea.’

Her face fell, but Cisco kept on grinning and holding her.

‘We’re not teenagers anymore, our backs are going to hurt like a bitch from sleeping on the couch.’

Caitlin chuckled. ‘We’re not teenagers anymore, so we can skip the emotional and embarrassing love declarations?’

He hummed, clearly amused. ‘Oh yeah, definitely.’

‘So we should skip straight to the part where we make out like teenagers?’

‘Yeah, that sounds good.’, he moved in to kiss her, but stopped just short. ‘But my back really is killing me, we should move to the bed.’

Caitlin laughed, loud and happy. She also grabbed his hand and took him to her bedroom, and made sure to make Cisco forget about how his back was hurting.


	14. #14 FAVORITE HURT/COMFORT MOMENT

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> When Caitlin starts acting just a little bit off, Cisco worries. But he knows better than to insist, he just waits for her to come to him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [This is the Moment I started shipping them.](https://sssssssim.tumblr.com/post/104859556516/intimacy-%CB%88%C9%AAn-t%C9%99-m%C9%99)

Cisco knew there was something wrong with Caitlin. For the past week, she had been acting just a little bit off. It wasn’t too alarming, but Cisco knew his wife. He let her be, figuring she’ll come to him, eventually. She always did.

But that morning, something was even more off with Caitlin. She was completely silent on the drive to work, and once they got there, she refused Cisco’s offer for coffee, opting for a fruit tea instead.

Caitlin without coffee? Unheard of.

It didn’t stop there.

Cisco offered to work together on something, but Caitlin refused, saying she was working on something time sensitive.

Caitlin saying no to spending time with Cisco? Unheard of.

An hour later, Cisco heard Caitlin rushing down the hallways. He followed her, a few paces back, to the bathroom, where he heard the distinct sounds of someone throwing up. 

Caitlin throwing up? Unheard of.

He waited for her, and she was looking pale and sweaty. She said she was fine, promised Cisco that it was only something that she ate. She kissed him briefly and went back to work.

Caitlin not telling Cisco what was wrong? Not even when it was clear that he knew?

Really unheard of.

Cisco was alarmed, but he knew better than to insist.

(｡♥‿♥｡)

An hour later, Caitlin was crying in the pipeline.

Cisco was quick to go to her. He didn’t say anything, he just sat down next to her and gathered her in his arms. Caitlin cried, for a long while, but after she calmed herself, she didn’t move out of his hold.

‘This feels like deja-vu.’, he whispered into her hair.

‘Yeah.’, Caitlin breathed out. ‘I’m holding another engagement ring now.’

‘You’re not holding it, you're wearing it. And your husband is not lost in someone else’s mind, he’s sitting right here.’

She sniffed.

‘Come on, Caitlin.’, he kissed her temple. ‘Tell me what’s wrong.’

‘It’s not wrong.’

‘Really?’, Cisco asked, incredulously. ‘Cause you turned down coffee and threw up and ran away from me. How is that not wrong?’

Slowly, Caitlin pushed herself away, but just enough to be able to look at Cisco.

‘It’s not wrong. It’s good, but it’s also… terrifying.’

Cisco tried, honestly he did. He pulled to the front of his memory everything he knew about Caitlin, and he thought about it, really thought about it. He couldn’t figure it out.

‘Yeah, I got nothing.’, he sighed. ‘I don’t understand what’s happening.’

He took a deep breath, tried again. ‘Are you sick?’

‘Not sick, no.’

Caitlin took a deep breath and pushed herself back into Cisco’s hold, even closer than before.

‘I think I’m pregnant.’, she whispered, and his brain stopped working.

Well, no it didn’t. It started working at full power, because Cisco immediately started crying. That probably had more to do with his heart than his brain, though, and the incredible amount of happiness he felt in his chest.

His brain still did its job, though.

‘You  _ think _ ?’

‘I haven’t done a test, yet.’

Caitlin, not doing a test? Unheard of.

‘Babe?’, his voice shook. ‘Are you terrified of what it’ll actually mean to have a baby? Or are you terrified because I-’

‘Not you.’, she cut him off strongly. ‘I’m never terrified about anything regarding you.’

Cisco breathed out shakily, in relief.

‘So it’s just the normal sort of terrified that I’m feeling right now at the thought of you going through birth and the thought of us actually being parents?’

Caitlin once again pulled back, so that she could look at him with very wide eyes.

‘Cause I can handle that.’, Cisco said softly. ‘ _ We  _ can handle that.’

‘We can?’, her voice shook.

Cisco kissed her, first, nice and steady, until she relaxed in his hold. Then, he grinned at her, before getting up and pushing the intercom button.

‘Barry! I need you to go to the closest drugstore and get us a whole bunch of ginger ale and a couple of pregnancy tests.’

Caitlin said his name, absolutely appalled, quickly getting up and pressing the intercom again.

‘Hold that order, Barry. I can do a blood test.’

She glared at Cisco, evidently disappointed that he didn’t think of that. He had thought of that, he just needed her to be ready to do it.

So he smiled at Caitlin, tears still in his eyes. ‘Pregnant or not, I love you anyway.’

‘Me too.’, she nodded. ‘But now I hate you for making me tell Barry like this.’

Cisco laughed, evilly so, until she cut him off with a kiss. They only stopped kissing when Barry wasn’t able to keep himself from hugging them, anymore.


	15. #15 FAVORITE ANGST MOMENT

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Cisco has a nightmare, and in the wake of it, he calls Caitlin.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [Caitlin dying is the most angsty Cisco has ever been.](https://sssssssim.tumblr.com/post/158959221101)

**_Are you awake?_ **

Caitlin frowned at her phone. It was close to 4AM and she was awake, but Cisco had told her, hours ago, that he was going to go to sleep. Still, she replied a simple  _ Yes. _

**_Are you naked?_ ** was the next text he sent, to which Caitlin quickly replied  _ NO _ .

The next second, her phone was ringing, with a video call from Cisco.

He looked… worse for wear. Clearly, he had been sleeping, judging by the state of his hair. But he was pale, there was a sweat mark around the collar of his shirt and his eyes were wide and shiny.

‘What happened?’, Caitlin asked, very concerned.

‘Bad dream.’, he shook his head. ‘I just wanted to… see you.’

She frowned at that, even if she understood exactly what he was saying. ‘I’m fine, Cisco.’

He nodded, closing his eyes and taking a big, shaky breath.

‘I’m sorry if I woke you up.’

‘You didn’t.’, Caitlin was quick to assure. ‘I somehow ended up watching three space documentaries of Netflix. I was just about to go to sleep when you called.’

‘Okay, I’m sorry.’, he winced. ‘I’ll let you sleep, now. Thank you.’

Caitlin could see how shaky Cisco was. Whatever he dreamt of, it left him in a bad state. She couldn’t stand for it.

‘Cisco?’, she smiled gently. ‘Breach yourself over here.’

His eyes grew wide. ‘You don’t have to-’

‘I know. Do it anyway.’

With that, she closed the video call.

It took less than a minute for a breach to open up in her bedroom. Only then did Caitlin realize that she wasn’t wearing pants, but it was too late to do anything about it. And Cisco wasn’t wearing any, either.

He looked… bad. He had changed out of the sweated out shirt, but his eyes were still wide and unfocused, and Caitlin noticed that his hands were shaking slightly.

‘Come on.’, she said gently, patting the empty place next to her on the bed. ‘Get in.’

He shook his head. ‘This is-’

‘Fine, Cisco. Just get in. I promise I don’t bite.’

She snorted, and with that, she got under the thin sheet she used as a cover during warm summer nights like this.

It took a few moments, but Cisco did listen to her. He padded to the other side of the bed, put his phone on the bedside table, and slowly, as if expecting Caitlin to change her mind, he got under the sheet.

He laid on his back, but he wasn’t relaxed. Not at all.

Caitlin turned on her side, facing him. She also started gently running her fingers through his hair, making Cisco close his eyes.

‘What did you dream of?’

He started crying at that, so he shut his eyes extra tight.

‘I have this recurring dream, when things get real bad. It’s not even a dream, it’s…’

Cisco didn’t go on, so Caitlin pressed her fingers to his temple.

‘I see you dying.’, he breathed out. ‘Frost coming to life. That’s not-’, he shook his head. ‘That’s not the problem, but I see you dying on that damn table and-’

His voice failed him.

_ Hug him, you idiot! _ , Frost all but yelled in Caitlin’s head. 

She did that, would have done it even without Frost’s yelling. Caitlin got close to Cisco, until she could wrap both her hands around his arm and rest her head on his bicep.

‘What happened?’, she said gently. ‘You said you have this nightmare when things get bad.’

‘I don’t know.’, he shook his head. ‘I was doing alright, there wasn’t anything… bad, in my head, when I went to sleep. This shouldn’t have happened.’

Caitlin sighed. ‘Try and get some sleep. It’s gonna be better in the morning.’

‘I’m sorry I ruined your night.’

She couldn’t help but smile at that. ‘You didn’t ruin my night. Not unless you keep just laying there, hard as a plank.’

He huffed, faking annoyance. ‘You’re just fishing for a cuddle.’

‘ _ You c _ alled me.’, Caitlin pointed out, petulantly so.

‘I can go.’, he said, and she knew he meant it.

‘Don’t you dare!’

He chuckled, a little, which was a good sign. Cisco then shuffled around, until Caitlin was laying on his chest and his arm was around her shoulders. It was a proper cuddle, and she felt herself getting immediately sleepy.

Nothing else was said that night.

(｡♥‿♥｡)

In the morning, Caitlin found Cisco in the kitchen, making pancakes. He was still not wearing pants and he was swinging his hips to the music playing on his phone.

They had breakfast together, danced and goofed around as they cleaned up.

Nothing too important happened that day, but years and years later, they will both admit that it was the day they started falling in love with each other. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i'm feelin cuddly, aparently.


	16. #16 FAVORITE ACTION-PACKED MOMENT

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sometimes, Cisco gets reminded of the worst fight he had with Frost. But these days, what comes next is better.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [REMEMBER ??! ](https://sssssssim.tumblr.com/post/165152536931/cisco-ramon-might-be-one-of-the-most-powerful)

Over time, Cisco got used to fighting side by side Frost. He got used to the snark, to the underlined, very hidden fondness she had for the team. He even got used to the ice and the power she displayed every time she went out.

But there were moments when she still did something that shocked Cisco.

Like tonight. Tonight, Frost was a study in duality.

As they fought side by side, some random metahuman with vicious powers, she herself was vicious. Absolutely ruthless, to the point where Cisco had only seen once before.

Once, in a warehouse, when she was fighting Vibe.

It was an impressive sight to see, the hate in her eyes, the set of her shoulders, the snarl on her lips, the strength emanating from her palms in the form of ice.

But then, as soon as the metahuman crumbled to the ground, unconscious, a flip was switched.

Frost ran to Cisco’s side, evidently worried. She checked him over, thurrougly so, making sure he wasn’t hurt even though he had repeatedly said he wasn’t.

And her worry didn’t go away, not even when they reached Star Labs. After showering and letting Frost give him an extensive medical exam, Cisco collapsed on a couch in the lounge room.

Usually, this was the time that Caitlin came back. But not tonight.

And oddly enough, Cisco welcomed Frost. Well, it wasn’t odd. Actually, Cisco found himself craving some nice quality alone time with Frost, because he felt like he didn’t know her. Not really. Not yet. Not as well as he knew Caitlin.

So when Frost brought him a cup of coffee with hot chocolate in it, he grabbed her wrist and asked her to sit down.

She frowned, but did as asked. She crossed her legs and turned around to watch him.

‘You okay?’

‘Yeah’, he nodded, ‘perfectly fine. As your very thorough exam pointed out.’

Frost rolled her eyes, but then she went back to watching him. Cisco was being analized, he realized it, but he let her.

‘I have a lot of memories with you.’, he started by saying, not looking at her.

‘Yeah, you’ve known Caity for-’

‘No, I mean with you, Frost.’

There was a pause. ‘Okay…’, she said, dubiously. ‘And what about these memories?’

‘The absolute worst memory I have of us is fighting against each other in a warehouse.’

Frost didn’t say anything for a long time, so much so that Cisco was able to look at her. She was watching him with hesitation. She wasn’t going to back down, she was set on defending herself, but she knew she wasn’t completely right.

Cisco smiled. ‘I hate the thought of ever having you in front of my gauntlets again.’

She bristled at that. ‘It won’t happen and I’m pissed that you still don’t trust me.’

‘Oh, I trust you. And I know it won’t happen again. That’s not what I was saying.’

‘Then what are you saying?’, Frost sounded very annoyed.

‘That I hate that memory, and it’s hurtful, but there are times, like tonight, when I’m reminded of it.’

‘Why tonight?’, she seemed less annoyed, more curious.

Cisco tilted his head and raised an eyebrow at her. ‘Because tonight you were so incredibly badass, you reminded me of how truly powerful you are.’

It took a few moments, but eventually Frost did smirk at him, all cocky and proud.

‘And yet, Vibe boy, you managed to beat me.’

He pulled a face. ‘I’d much rather beat you at Mario Kart.’

Frost frowned at that.

Cisco took a deep breath and leveled her with a look. ‘Could we be friends? For real? Hang out and get to know each other?’

‘You want that?’

‘Yeah. You’re cool.’

She groaned at the pun, as Cisco grinned.

‘I mean it. We could get along really well, but we’d both have to… work a little for that.’

‘What do you suggest?’

‘Mario Kart.’, he said slowly. ‘Big Belly Burger. Star Wars marathon.’

Frost narrowed her eyes at him. Then, she tilted her head. Then, she rolled her eyes and relaxed back against the couch, throwing her legs in his lap.

‘I guess that sounds like almost fun.’

It was as good as he was going to get. And it was enough for Cisco. It was a start, and a good one at that.

‘Tomorrow, though.’, she was stern. ‘You need rest tonight.’

Cisco grinned, because as cold as she was, she did care about him. 


	17. #17 FAVORITE UNDERRATED MOMENT

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "We may not be able to have a perfect christmas, but we can have a white one."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow](https://66.media.tumblr.com/fe71b7d6509bdcdd87686561ab228b5b/17289e56756deef5-7b/s540x810/132fabeef311994fd4f99218e569c2ea4533ac53.gifv)

Cisco was grumpy, annoyed and borderline pissed.

It was supposed to be a short two day work vacation in Vancouver. Two days, helping the local Tannhouser Industries branch develop a releasing mechanism for a new drug that was supposed to be a cheaper, better option for insulin.

Caitlin truly believed the drug would work, so Cisco was quick to agree to join her.

Two days turned into a week, then two. They were in the third week of work, it was Christmas and Cisco was freezing.

They were making their way from the lab to the air bnb their rented, and Cisco was literally shaking in his boots. It wasn’t a long walk, and there were no busses in the area, and the Canadian winter was an absolute bitch.

Caitlin, of course, had no issue. The cold didn’t bother her anymore (Stop it with the Frozen references, Cisco!), and she was actually smiling, as snowflakes got trapped in her hair.

When they made it to the apartment, Cisco wanted to cry.

It was Christmas eve, their presents were back in Central City, they didn’t even have a Christmas tree, his socks were soaked and his teeth were chattering.

‘Go shower’, Caitlin said gently, ‘while I figure out dinner.’

Cisco was too miserable to do anything else.

‘I’m gonna stay there at least an hour.’, he grumbled.

‘See that you do.’, she said, mischievously so, but Cisco couldn’t even try to figure it out, right then.

(｡♥‿♥｡)

When he came out of the shower, Caitlin had already set the table.

It had a tiny Christmas tree that smelt real and was decorated with equally tiny fairy lights, there was mulled wine with fruits in cups, and in the middle of the table, there was a large tray of mac and cheese.

Caitlin was standing by the table, dressed in pajamas, smiling as carefree and sweet as a child.

‘I know it’s not quite a Christmas feast, but I figured your go-to comfort food would be good enough.’

Cisco felt like crying, Caitlin kept on smiling wildly.

‘There’s also muffins baking in the ovens.’

He didn’t start crying, but he did rush to Caitlin’s side and hugged her tightly.

She returned the hug immediately, chuckling gently. But when she moved to pull away, Cisco didn’t let her.

‘Your gift is all the way home.’, Cisco told her. ‘And it’s a good one, too, truly my best work.’

‘It’s okay.’, she laughed. ‘You’ll give it to me when we get back.’

He whined, fought really hard not to actually start crying.

‘Come on’, she kissed his cheek, ‘let’s eat before the food gets cold.’

Food did always make him feel better.

(｡♥‿♥｡)

The food was delicious and it wasn’t a lot, but it was still a marvel that Caitlin managed to do all this without him noticing.

After they were done eating, they took their final cups of mulled wine and moved to the couch, arguing over their choice of Christmas movie. Before she sat down, Caitlin pulled away the curtains.

It was still snowing outside, which made her smile and made him groan.

‘You remember that one Christmas when it was raining? And you were just starting to get your powers, so you made it snow?’

She chuckled as she sat down next to him on the couch, snuggled into his side.

‘Can we get back to that?’, Cisco whined.

She snorted. ‘What did snow ever do to you?’

He pulled a face. ‘It’s wet and it’s cold, and it makes me sneeze and sweat and shiver and -’

‘Okay, Grumpy.’, she wrapped an arm around his shoulder. ‘You don’t like snow, I got it.’

‘It’s okay when you do it. But what’s happening outside, that’s just… no.’

She snickered. ‘Just no?’

‘No.’, Cisco said strongly. Then he lowered his voice to a whisper. ‘I’m fine, you don’t need to be this… cuddly.’

‘Oh, this is purely for my benefit.’

Caitlin smiled at him, eyes sparkling with fondness.

‘We’ve been here for three weeks, working all day long, in different labs. We only see each other in the morning, where we’re too busy thinking about work, and in the evening when we’re tired. We’ve been living together and I miss you.’

Cisco got… very soft at that. Very, very soft. He felt loved and for the first time since he arrived in Vancouver, he felt warm.

That was probably why he did it.

That, and all the love he felt for Caitlin, that was why he leaned forward and kissed her.

He stopped quickly, though, when he realized just how terrified he was of her rejection.

Caitlin was surprised, clearly. She was blinking slowly at him, her lips pursed.

‘I… shouldn’t have done that?’, Cisco asked.

She shook her head. ‘You shouldn’t have stopped.’

Still, Cisco waited. He looked at her, held his breath, waited for her to say something more.

‘I’m cold.’, Caitlin whispered, smiling slightly. ‘Warm me up?’

She didn’t give him any time to answer, kissed him instead.

Cisco soon forgot about the snow outside, about being stuck in Vancouver, about Christmas and everything else that wasn’t the perfect way Caitlin fit in his hold.


	18. #18 FAVORITE JEALOUSY MOMENT

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Caitlin is not a jealous woman. But sometimes, her jealousy gets the better of her, and it always involves Cisco.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [Remember this gem?](https://sssssssim.tumblr.com/post/157856655741/tag-yourslef-im-definitely-gipsy)

Caitlin was not a jealous woman. Never had been. Not with Ronnie, not with her college boyfriends, not in a professional capacity.

And yet, there were moments when jealousy got the best of her. She could count these moments on the fingers of one hand, and they always involved Cisco.

One, Kendra. Caitlin was briefly jealous at the idea that Cisco actually managed to get a date in a coffee shop, like some goddamn fluffy fanfiction. Of course, it passed quickly, with the notion of soulmates (and angsty fanfiction).

Two, Lisa Snart. Caitlin thought she was angry that Cisco kissed a villain, but after some in depth personal analysis, she realized that she had been, in fact, jealous. Of course, it passed quickly.

Three, Cynthia. Caitlin’s jealousy came like an explosion, when she kissed Cisco in the Cortex, with all of them there. It passed quickly enough, because she saw in his eyes that he was serious about her.

Four, Kamilla. Again, with the coffee shop romance. But Caitlin forced herself to get past it quickly, because she knew how important a normal relationship was to Cisco, in that moment.

All of these women came into Cisco’s life, into their lives, stayed for a while, and left.

Caitlin’s jealousy was always short lived, because Cisco was happy, in his relationships.

And then the women left, left him, and it was Caitlin’s time to begin her work, in helping Cisco turn back to being happy.

It was just how the way things went. It was normal, for Caitlin. She grew used to it.

She understood that deep down, she was attracted to Cisco and that she wanted to be in the position these women were. But she couldn’t do anything about it.

And then, the unthinkable happened and Caitlin reacted, exactly without thinking.

(｡♥‿♥｡)

She had dinner with Cisco, one random Friday evening. They were both feeling tired, having had a pretty full week at Star Labs. So they went out for a chill dinner at a restaurant downtown, and decided to walk home, at least for a while.

They were walking in front of a bar that was new and had its opening night, apparently. The doors were wide open, there was loud bouncy music coming from inside and there were a lot of people outside. Mostly women, mostly drunk, mostly dancing.

Caitlin watched it happen like a bad movie.

There was a woman who all but marched towards Cisco. She was wearing a short dress with an indecent cleavage, high heels and a very bright pink lipstick.

She stopped in front of Cisco, said ‘You’re hot, in a nerdy way.’, grabbed his cheeks and kissed him, violently so.

Cisco was too stunned to do anything. He didn’t even close his eyes, he just froze.

The woman hummed, when she pulled away and said nothing more as she went back inside of the bar.

Caitlin felt a rage like never before, and jealousy, pure and unaltered.

She walked away, all but ran out of there.

‘Wait!’, Cisco said, evidently affected. ‘Wait for me!’

She didn’t, kept on power walking, but Cisco followed. He fell in line with her, said her name a couple of times. When she still didn’t stop, Cisco cursed, loud and filthy and before she could stop walking, Catlin stepped into a breach and found herself in Cisco’s apartment.

‘Unbelievable!’, she exploded once he got there and closed the breach.

‘Calm down!’

Caitlin all but yelled. ‘Do not tell me to calm down!’

He raised his voice, as well. ‘Why are you so upset? It wasn’t like I did anything!’

‘Right, you didn’t do anything. You didn’t stop her, you didn’t push her-’

‘What the hell did you want me to do? She just came at me!’

‘So it’s okay for any random woman to come at you?’

‘That’s not what I-’

‘Okay then!’, Caitlin exploded.

With a rush of power and anger like she had never felt before, Caitlin did the unthinkable.

She grabbed Cisco’s shirt and pushed her lips to his.

It was absolutely violent, at the start. There was anger and power, and the desperate need to just… fight. But then, it died down.

Then, Caitlin realized what was actually happening.

She realized that she was kissing Cisco, and she realized that he was kissing her back.

Without a second thought, Caitlin stopped attacking Cisco. Still, she didn’t pull away, and he didn’t either. Her hold on his shirt turned into her caress and his arms, that had been holding her shoulders, gently moved to her waist.

The kiss turned soft, and gentle and absolutely lovely.

Caitlin forgot all about the jealousy she felt, the anger and frustration. All those feelings were replaced with love, pure and unaltered. Love, excitement, and content.

She wasn’t surprised by the way she felt about Cisco, but she was surprised by the strength of the things she was feeling. It was another explosion, but this time, it was an explosion of warmth and love.

Suddenly, she had to see his eyes, had to know what he was thinking. So Caitlin stopped the kiss, pulled back but not too much, just enough to be able to see him.

At first, Cisco chased her with his lips pursed, and when he realized that she wasn’t there, he licked his lips and took a shaky breath. Only then he opened his eyes.

There was awe in then, he was surprised.

‘I can’t believe that happened.’, he whispered. ‘I can’t believe you got jealous over some stupid bimbo and kissed me.’

‘I’m sorry.’, Caitlin said, her voice shaking. She didn’t move away from him, not when Cisco tightened his hold on her waist.

‘Don’t be.’, he shook his head. ‘Do you mean it, or is this just your jealousy speaking?’

Caitlin had to look away, her cheeks feeling like they were literally on fire. So she pushed her cheek to the crook of Cisco’s neck.

‘I meant it.’, she whispered. ‘I meant it a lot.’

Cisco took a deep breath. ‘A lot, huh?’

His voice was teasing, but it didn’t mean much, because she was pressed to his chest, she felt how fast his heart was beating.

‘A whole lot.’, Caitlin smiled.

One of Cisco’s hands moved, from her waist, up her back and to her neck. He gently grabbed her chin and brought it up, making Caitlin look at him.

He was smiling softly, love sparkling in his eyes.

‘If I kiss you again, I might never stop.’

‘Promise?’

‘Actually.’, Cisco frowned, playfully so. ‘That depends if you’re going to keep yelling at me.’

Caitlin narrowed her eyes. ‘That depends if you’re going to keep letting random women kiss you.’

‘Never again.’, his face turned stony, and she loved him for it.

‘Then kiss me alr-’

She got cut off by Cisco’s lips, and she wasn’t mad about it. Not at all.


	19. #19 FAVORITE HOMECOMING MOMENT

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Something happens that gets Caitlin thinking about the moment Cisco convinced her to come back to Star Labs.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [Vaguely referencing this bit, here](https://sssssssim.tumblr.com/post/166274906536)  
> also, there's mature times ahead, but just a little tiny bit

Caitlin and Cisco got together the day before. It was a very emotional conversation, that left them both shaky and giddy as children. It had been a long time coming, and this relationship was incredibly important, for both of them. So they agreed they would take it slow.

That was yesterday.

Today, Caitlin had come over to Cisco’s. They ordered some dinner, started watching a movie. They held hands and cuddled on the couch and it all started with Caitlin pouting over something in the movie, and Cisco quickly kissing it away.

Next thing she was aware of, she was sitting on Cisco’s lap, shamelessly rutting against him, his hands were on her ass and he was licking her collarbone.

The next moment when she became totally aware of what was happening, was when Cisco stopped using his tongue between her legs, but kept using his fingers as he asked her where she kept the condoms.

Caitlin was very aware of everything that happened after that.

(｡♥‿♥｡)

Now, they were laying on his bed, over the covers.

Caitlin’s breathing had not yet returned to normal, she was sweating everywhere and she hadn’t felt this relaxed in a very long time, even if her knees were still shaking.

Cisco turned around to face her, groaned as he moved, pushed his forehead to her arm.

‘That was amazing.’, he said, and his breath tickled Caitlin’s skin, making goosebumps appear.

‘You have no idea for how long I’ve wanted this to happen.’

He grinned at that. ‘No, I have no idea. Tell me?’

Despite all that they had just done, Caitlin blushed.

‘Oh, now you gotta tell me.’, Cisco teased her.

But he also looked at her with big, happy eyes, and she couldn’t keep her mouth shut.

‘We were in a bar.’, she started.

‘Gotta narrow it down.’

‘I was working in a bar-’

‘And I convinced you to come back to Star Labs.’

Caitlin hummed.

‘Why, though?’, he was frowning. ‘What was so special about that night?’

She considered it. ‘I hadn’t seen you in a while, I had missed you. And you... ‘ Caitlin couldn’t help but smile. ‘You looked good, and you were smirking, and teasing, and drinking and…’ She didn’t go on, blushing again.

‘And what?’, Cisco went back to grinning. He kissed her skin. ‘And what?’

‘And I was still feeling… cold, which at that time, tended to bring out a certain part of me.’

It took a moment.

‘You were horny.’, Cisco understood, and he seemed absolutely delighted.

‘I was.’, Caitlin sighed. ‘And you were incredibly hot.’

He snorted at that. ‘I wasn’t hotter than on any other day.’

She smirked at that. ‘Exactly.’

Again, it took Cisco a few moments to understand what she was saying. Then he groaned, licked her shoulder and rolled on top of her, making her let out a surprised sound that quickly turned into moan.

‘Up for round two?’, he whispered, slowly rolling his hips.

Caitlin wasted no time with actual words. Instead, she bit on his lower lip and grabbed his ass.


	20. #20 FAVORITE DORKS BEING DORKS MOMENT

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A love story, in 5+1 fandom references

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [Like this one.](https://sssssssim.tumblr.com/post/166275767601)   
>  [Or this one.](https://sssssssim.tumblr.com/post/152636800151)

**(｡♥‿♥｡) One: The bigger they are…**

‘Empire Strikes Back.’, Cisco looked, incredulously, at this week’s weird Wells. ‘Just take it down like it was an AT-AT.’

Caitlin’s voice was loud and strong. ‘The bigger they are the harder they fall.’

His eyes grew wide, as she threw him a look. ‘Even I’ve seen Empire.’

‘I like you.’, Cisco whispered, completely surprised.

Caitlin was not one to reference geeky stuff, and yet here she was. It was surprising, and cute. Pretty women who saw Star Wars and paid enough attention to be able to quote it, they were definitely cute, in Cisco’s books.

**(｡♥‿♥｡) Two: The answer to life, the Universe and everything…**

Seeing Barry so off course was a very painful thing. The Speed Force really did a number of him, and Cisco was trying his best to make sense of the gibberish. It wasn’t working.

‘Maybe now he knows the answer to life, the Universe and everything.’

Caitlin tilted her head, smiling slightly. ‘So you think all this crazy writing is Barry’s way of telling us  _ 42 _ ?’

Cisco laughed, so glad she caught that reference. He’d missed it, Caitlin making him laugh. He missed her a lot, so much he couldn’t help but tell her.

It didn’t work too well, because Caitlin, wearing Frost’s clothes, looked away. But she was Caitlin, damn it, her eyes sparked like they always did when he laughed at something she said. It was important.

**(｡♥‿♥｡) Three: Beam me up...**

In a post-Crisis world, Cisco had to train again to make his powers work. Of course, Caitlin helped, and Kamilla was there, sometimes, for moral support.

It took a lot of work, but he did finally manage it. He opened up a breach, and then another, and then another and another.

‘So’, he grinned at the ladies, ‘where do we want to go?’

Caitlin snorted. ‘How about to the Cortex, for starters? Come on, beam me up, Scotty!’

‘His name is Cisco.’, Kamilla frowned, making both Cisco and Caitlin freeze, for a moment.

‘It’s a Star Trek thing.’, Caitlin explained, but she was clearly biting her lip to keep from saying anything more.

That… made Cisco have a very bad thought. He really shouldn’t compare his girlfriend to his best friend, especially not over a Star Trek reference.

**(｡♥‿♥｡) Four: Time and Relative Dimension...**

‘No!’, Cisco roared, glaring at Barry. ‘No, you cannot go back in time and fix it! You do not do that ever again!’

‘You don’t have all the security protocols of the Tardis.’, Caitlin continued. ‘You’ll go back, butterfly effect, you’ll screw up somehow and then-’

‘Flashpoint! Or god knows what else!’, Cisco went on, going as far as pointing a finger in Barry’s face. ‘You’re not the Doctor! This is real life, your actions have consequences.’

‘And the consequences usually end up biting  _ us _ in the ass.’, Caitlin finished.

Both of them had yelled loudly. Both of them were glaring strongly at Barry.

Neither of them overreacted.

‘They’re right.’, Iris said with finality. ‘We’ll figure something else out.’

Barry sighed. ‘You know, I’ve never seen Doctor Who.’

That made Cisco realize that Caitlin had actually made a Doctor Who reference. He turned to her, grinning wildly.

She didn’t say anything, but she fondly rolled her eyes and opened her mouth to say something. But then she stopped, eyes going wide and unfocused.

‘I have an idea.’, she turned to Cisco, smirking just a little bit cocky. ‘Remember that episode in America? With River and RoryandAmy?’

‘The Doctor died!’, Cisco yelled.

‘Yes, but…’

And she went on and on, with a fairly decent plan. As he looked at Caitlin, talking animatedly and remembering exact lines from that episode, Cisco realized that if she kept talking geeky at him, he might just fall completely in love with her.

**(｡♥‿♥｡) Five: Dad’s on a hunting trip…**

There was a vampire in Central City.

‘It’s not a vampire.’, Caitlin rolled her eyes.

Cisco shook his head and insisted. ‘It sure looks like a vampire.’

She rubbed her forehead, looking very tired.

‘I’ll bring out the machetes, then. And some dead man’s blood.’

Cisco’s jaw dropped, vampire completely forgotten.

‘You’ve watched Supernatural.’

She raised an eyebrow at him. ‘Yes. So?’

‘When did you have the time to watch Supernatural?’

Caitlin shrugged. ‘An episode here and there.’

‘There’s 15 seasons.’

‘I know. I’ve been watching it for awhile.’

Cisco was completely shocked, he knew he was staring at her like a mad man. This was the last straw. The information that she had watched Supernatural was the last straw. He had, in that exact moment, fallen completely in love with her.

‘Cisco?’, Caitlin smiled. ‘Let’s get back to the vampire?’

He snapped out of it and narrowed his eyes. ‘I thought you said it wasn’t a vampire.’

She rolled her eyes again, and they went back to work.

**(｡♥‿♥｡) Plus One: Just remember I’ll have known that, deep down inside …**

Frost was staring at him. And then, she went away, Caitlin came back, and she was still staring at him.

To be fair, Cisco did something really bad. Well, he caught the evil metahuman, but he did it in a very nasty way. Such a nasty, bad, evil way, Thawne would have been proud.

He felt ashamed. He felt disgusting, he failed like he failed everyone. He did something worthy of Reverb, not of Vibe.

He-

‘Just remember’, Caitlin said gently, ‘I’ll have known that, deep down inside, you were just enough of a bastard to be worth liking.’

Cisco chuckled, weakly. ‘I love that book.’

‘I know. It’s always on your nightstand, that’s why I read it.’

He was shaking in his boots, ready to start crying and have a panic attack at any moment now.

She came to his side, strongly grabbed his neck.

‘You did nothing wrong.’

‘Oh, I really did.’, Cisco breathed out.

‘You saved our lives. Nothing else matters.’

He didn’t quite believe her, but he was willing to. The longer she touched him, the longer she kept looking at him like that, the stronger he was ready to believe her.

‘Cisco’, she smiled, ‘I just quoted Good Omens at you and you barely reacted.’

‘How should I have reacted?’

‘How should have Aziraphale reacted when Crowley said that?’

‘Kissed him.’, Cisco didn’t miss a beat. It was one of the biggest frustrations in his fandom life.

Caitlin licked her lips, raised her eyebrows expectedly.

Cisco kissed her and promptly forgot everything and anything, about the metahuman, about where they were, about what he did.

‘I haven’t seen the show yet.’, Caitlin mumbled against his lips.

He gasped, took a step back. ‘Now. We’re doing that now. Marathon tonight, I don’t care.’

Caitlin laughed, bright and happy. ‘It’s a date.’

Cisco felt like panicking, again, but for entirely different reasons. 


	21. #21 FAVORITE MATCHING OUTFITS

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It was a big day, today. Don and Dawn West-Allen were going to be baptised, and Caitlin and Cisco were going to be godparents.

Cisco knocked on Caitlin’s door, waiting patiently. He was a little early, so she was probably still doing her hair or makeup or something.

It was a big day, today. Don and Dawn West-Allen were going to be baptised, and Caitlin and Cisco were going to be godparents.

He was beyond excited. Caitlin was not, judging by the look on her face when she opened her door.

‘What’s up?’, Cisco asked, as he made his way inside the apartment and closed the door behind her.

‘Nothing.’, Caitlin said quickly, putting her heels on. ‘I mean, it’s all good. I’m almost ready.’

‘I’m not buying it.’

She sighed. But she also looked at Cisco, with clear hesitation in her eyes. And she was biting on her lower lip, so clearly this was important.

‘Come on.’, Cisco said gently. ‘What’s wrong?’

‘I’m nervous.’, Caitlin admitted.

‘Of what, the baptism? It’ll be easy-peasy! We hold the babies, say some prayers, then party and eat cake!’

She rolled her eyes, but it lacked strength. ‘Not of the actual baptism, but of what it means.’

Ah. Yeah, Cisco got it now. He understood it well, because he’s been having the same turmoil with himself for the past days. But he had reached a conclusion and he was quick to tell it to Caitlin.

‘These kids, they’re going to have Frost and Vibe as godparents. They’re going to be the most protected children in Central City. And beyond that…’

He couldn’t help but smile, and gently grab her shoulder. ‘They’re also going to have Caitlin and Cisco as godparents. So they’re going to be the most loved kids in Central City.’

Caitlin did smile at that, but it wasn’t at full force.

‘You look very pretty.’, Cisco said next, acting like he had just noticed it. 

The truth was that Caitlin looked gorgeous. She wore a simple pale pink dress, that stopped above her knees and had a flowy, folded skirt.

The larger truth was that Frost told him, a few weeks ago, that he should wear pale pink. And he did, Cisco had a shirt that matched Caitlin’s dress, a red bowtie and a pair of dark slacks.

‘You look lovely.’, Caitlin told him, gently running her palm over his chest.

He grabbed her wrist, kept her hand there.

‘Caitlin, we’ve got this.’

She took a deep breath, smiling up at him afterwards.

‘Okay, we’ve got this.’

Cisco grinned.

‘But you do realize’, she went on, ‘that if we do this, then we’re going to have to… stick together. On the long run.’

‘Do you doubt that?’, Cisco frowned. ‘Cause that’s been clear to me, for a long while.’

Caitlin’s bottom lip trembled and her eyes got shiny.

‘It’s nice to hear, every now and then.’

‘Oh, you dumb-dumb.’

Cisco sighed and hugged her tightly.

‘Pull yourself together, woman.’, he teased. ‘Caitlin and Cisco are a packaged deal, for life. Best friends, best coworkers, best crime fighting duo, best will-they?-won’t-they not couple, whatever you wanna call it.’

‘Who calls us that?’, Caitlin seemed appalled. ‘Will we? Won’t we?’

‘Everyone, really. It’s getting tiresome.’

Cisco had just admitted to something, maybe, that he hadn’t planned to. But it was… obvious, really. And she really did look very pretty, and she was really warm, in his arms. And he was emotional, damn it, they were going to be godparents together.

Caitlin took a moment, but she did pull away from the hug. Just a little, just enough to look at him.

‘Will we?’

With just those two words, with just a simple question, Cisco got all gooey on the inside. Even more gooey than he was regarding the baptism.

He swallowed thickly before he answered.

‘If you want, yeah. But maybe not today? It’s supposed to be about the twins.’

Caitlin blinked quickly and shook her head.

‘You’re right.’, she nodded.

She properly pulled away from him and straightened his bow tie, but she also kissed his cheek.

‘Twins today.’, Caitlin whispered. ‘Us tomorrow.’

Cisco’s heart didn’t beat out of his chest, but it was close. ‘That sounds… like a plan. A good plan.’

(｡♥‿♥｡)

Caitlin considered “tomorrow” to be after midnight, cause that’s when she kissed him, even if they were still at the party and even if they were holding their godchildren.


	22. #22 FAVORITE GIFT

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Frost's suit gets ruined, Caitlin has a meltdown.

If there was one thing that they’ve learned easily about the whole superhero business, was that their suits were made to be destroyed. They had a ridiculous amount of money allocated in their yearly budget for suits, and they always went over it.

So it shouldn’t have come as a surprise to Caitlin when her Frost suit was ruined.

But it hurt, a surprising amount.

She loved that suit.

She loved it because she felt incredibly comfortable in it, because it was bullet proof and shock absorbent, because it had five different gps trackers in it, a miniature computer that tracked her vitals, and a whole lot of other things that she didn’t really understand, but knew it helped Cisco keep track on everything on the computers.

And it was a gift from Cisco.

He gave it to her before he left on his trip, and while he was away, Caitlin always missed him a little less when she was wearing the suit.

He was back now, but damn it, she still loved the suit a whole lot.

And now it was ruined.

‘Don’t worry, I’ll make you a new one.’

Speak of the devil. Cisco came into the chaining room without a second thought, even if he knew that she was changing. He was grinning wildly, clearly still riding the high of the battle before, of defeating the metahuman.

Caitlin felt like crying.

‘Oh-oh.’, he frowned, quickly making his way to her side. ‘Are you hurt?’

She shook her head.

‘Then why are you crying?’

Caitlin just sniffed at that, holding the remains of her suit closer to her chest.

‘Come on.’, Cisco snickered. ‘I’ll promise I’ll make you a new one, and it’ll be even cooler!’

‘But I loved this one.’

Cisco laughed at that, loudly, but he also hugged her tightly. At the end of it, he took away the remains of the suit and with a bad joke and cute smile, he managed to make Caitlin stop crying and forget, at least temporarily, about her ruined suit.

(｡♥‿♥｡)

The next day, when Caitlin got to work, there was a gift box waiting for her in the med lab. It was a flat white box, with a big silver bow on top.

Inside, there was a piece of her suit. The center piece, the white star that used to lay on her chest, was now placed safely inside a glass case.

Caitlin felt like crying, again, for entirely different reasons this time.

Of course, Cisco did it for her. Of course he did.

Because he loved her. Because he was in love with her.

He had never said it, in so many words, but he had let her know in other ways. With smiles and innocent touches, with hugs and cups of coffee, with listening to everything she said and knowing when she was upset.

Caitlin knew Cisco was in love with her.

And for the past weeks, she had started working on being able to accept the fact that there was a true, real possibility of being together.

In that moment, all the hesitations and doubts that Caitlin had flew out the window.

She ran to Cisco’s workshop and once she was there, she didn’t stop. He tried saying something along the lines of ‘Did you like your present?’, but he didn’t get to finish it.

Because Caitlin didn’t stop running until she was pressing Cisco against his desk, until her hands were tangled in his hair, until they were kissing.

He didn’t fight her, and he immediately kissed her back.

They did, eventually, stop, but it took a long while.

Cisco looked absolutely dazed on the other end of it, while Caitlin felt very, very excited and happy.

‘So’, he breathed out, blinking very slowly, ‘you did like your present.’

Caitlin nodded. ‘I did, but I like you more.’

The look in his eyes changed, then, reflecting exactly what Caitlin was feeling: excitement, giddiness, happiness. He kissed her, then, and they didn’t stop, not even when the team called them to the Cortex.


	23. #23 FAVORITE (CANON) ALTERNATE UNIVERSE

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Years after Caitlin gets kidnapped by a speedster from another timeline, she still thinks she’s smarter than Cisco.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here's some Flashpoint, for the billionth time! But this time, it's a couple of years in the future.

When Caitlin accepted to go out on a date with Francisco Ramon, she didn’t sign up for this.

She didn’t sign up for quickly and irrevocably fall in love with him, she didn’t sign up to work for Ramon Industries in the bioengineering department, she didn’t sign up to help Cisco become a superhero.

And yet… here she was.

In the Ramon Industries basement, in the secret lab Vibe used for his superhero business.

Vibe, aka Cisco, who was bleeding in her arms.

He had breached himself there, said her name, and promptly fell to the ground.

‘Are you shot?’, Caitlin yelled. ‘It was supposed to be a metahuman.’

‘He still had a gun.’, Cisco groaned, as she helped him up.

As she helped him lie down on a metal table, she tried her best to ignore the way he groaned, bit down on his lip to keep from screaming, the way she had his blood on her clothes and skin.

Caitlin shut down the part of herself that was screaming in fright and horror, and she turned all the way up the doctor side of her.

She got to work and an hour later, Cisco was all stitched up, in clean clothes, in the back seat of his limo, snorting lightly on Caitlin’s shoulder.

(｡♥‿♥｡)

She did not sleep a wink that night.

Instead, she lied down in Cisco’s bed, next to him, watching him sleep.

Caitlin counted his breaths, watched his chest rise and fall, and while she hated the fact that he was hurt, she was extremely happy that she was in his life.

Because maybe he wouldn’t have died tonight, if he hadn’t breached to her, but it would have been a close call.

(｡♥‿♥｡)

In the morning, they had breakfast together, made out against the counter, shared a shower without too much exhausting activity.

Caitlin changed Cisco’s bandages, with him grumbling all the while, made out some more and got dressed.

By 10, they were in one of the Ramon Industries larger conference rooms, holding a press conference about the release of a new in-body delivery system for insulin. It went amazingly.

They spent the next few hours in their respective offices, dealing with paperwork and team management.

At lunch, they ate on the balcony attached to Cisco’s office. Caitlin checked his wound in the bathroom, happy to see it was doing well, and they made out some more until his PA came looking for him.

She didn’t even bat an eye at the fact that they both came out of the bathroom, and that was saying something.

(｡♥‿♥｡)

They spent the rest of the day in their respective labs, working the day away.

After the building was all but deserted, they headed downstairs to the secret lab. They had a quick dinner, time which Caitlin spent arguing with Cisco.

But she won, in the end, and Cisco agreed to not go out as Vibe that night. The pain he was in probably had a bit more to do than her screaming, but still, they spent the night in the secret lab.

They still kept an eye on the police scanner (Caitlin, please stop calling it that, it involves a small AI and three satellites), but mostly they just did inventory and organizational work.

Still, they found things to do, so they didn’t even realize when the clock struck midnight, and went by it.

Only when Cisco started yawning, did Caitlin stop and look at the time. They really should have left hours ago.

She went to his side and plastered herself to his back, gently hugging his waist, careful of his wound.

‘Oh.’, Cisco said. ‘Fuck, is it really so late?’

Caitlin giggled. ‘Way past our bedtime.’

‘Let’s go, then. I’ll breach us home.’

She let go of him, watched him as he went around the lab, shutting computers off and gathering their things. Caitlin became very aware of the fact that he said ‘home’ and she was very interested if the breach he would open would take her to her apartment.

It didn’t. The breach took them to Cisco’s place, where Caitlin had her favorite shampoo and conditioner in the shower, her makeup on her half of the vanity, a few pajamas in a drawer and a few work outfits in his dressing.

Not much was said as they got ready for bed, but Caitlin couldn’t stop thinking about it.

So when the lights were out and she was in his arms, she said her piece.

‘You know, when a weird metahuman kidnapped me and brought me to Ramon Industries, I really didn’t expect to end up here.’

He laughed at that, too loudly in the otherwise silent room.

‘What the hell was he thinking?’, Cisco still chuckled, before he sobered up.

He kissed her temple first, before talking, in a lowered voice. ‘But you’re good... Here, right? You and me?’

‘Yes.’, she was quick to say. ‘You and I are very good. And I wouldn’t say no, if you’d finally ask me to move in with you.’

Cisco froze and then, in a very squeaky voice, asked ‘Finally?’.

She snorted. ‘I’m smart, Cisco. I’ve figured you out a few weeks ago.’

He grumbled something that she didn’t understand.

‘What was that?’

‘I said’, he sounded mildly angry, ‘that you’re not that smart.’

‘Excuse me?’, Caitlin acted as affronted as she could.

Cisco huffed. He gently detached himself and got out of bed, heading to the dresser. He rummaged around for a few moments, and he let the light on, so there was a little light coming in the bedroom.

He all but marched to the edge of the bed, and he threw something at Caitlin, missing her face by an inch.

‘Oh, I’m Caitlin Snow, I’m so smart’, he mocked her, ‘I figured out what my idiot boyfriend was thinking a looong time ago.’

Cisco straightened his back and glared at Caitlin. ‘Well, joke’s on you! Cause that’s not what I wanted to ask! The moving in part would have been the second question.’

His voice was hard and he was yelling, but Caitlin could see, very clearly, that under all that he was afraid.

Slowly, she reached for the thing he threw at her, which turned out to be a small jewelry box.

Caitlin really wasn’t expecting to find an engagement ring in there. And yet, that was it. With wide eyes, she managed to look at Cisco.

He spoke slowly, his voice just a little shaky. ‘First, we get engaged. Then, we really move in together. Then, press conference. Then we get married, go on honeymoon, have a bunch of babies and live happily ever after.’

Caitlin swallowed thickly. ‘Sounds like quite the plan.’

‘Does it sound like a good plan?’, Cisco countered.

She really wasn’t expecting to get engaged tonight. But there was absolutely now way she was going to refuse him.

So Caitlin put the ring on, and smiled, very wide, at Cisco.

‘We really need to find a way to get hold of that Barry Allen guy. He’s gonna love this.’

He tilted his head at that, then jumped on the bed, kneeling next to Caitlin.

‘Was that a yes? That sounded like a yes.’

Caitlin managed to whisper a shaky ‘yes’, but she focused more on kissing Cisco senseless.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You'll get a cookie if you can guess which non-canon AU I'll be posting about tomorrow.


	24. #24 FAVORITE (NON-CANON) ALTERNATE UNIVERSE

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> When the world is filled with superheroes, one expects them to find their way to Star Labs, sooner or later.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> nOw LoOK. it was either this, or villainverse for the 345389 time.  
> ... and, of course, this is the highest word count to a fic in this challenge. oF cOuRSe.

It was a slow day at Star Labs. Iris and Barry were off investigating a case for The Citizen, Ralph was helping Sue move into a new apartment, so it was just Caitlin and Cisco.

He was in his workshop, doing maintenance on his gauntlets, as Caitlin worked in the Cortex. She was ordering supplies and simultaneously looking over budgets and bank statements, so she was very concentrated, not very aware of what was happening around her.

So when a very manly voice called her ‘Doctor Snow’, Caitlin yelped. She didn’t let Frost out, but she was skimming the surface, just in case.

There were two men in the Cortex, looking curiously around. The one who called her name was blonde, the other one had dark hair.

They looked vaguely familiar, but Caitlin couldn’t place them.

The one with dark hair was the first to notice the Flash suit. ‘Steve’, he said, ‘we have a problem.’

‘He’s not here!’, Caitlin was quick to say. ‘Whatever you want with The Flash, he’s not here.’

‘Calm down, lady.’, the dark hair guy said with a snort.

‘We’re not here for the Flash, Doctor Snow.’, the blonde said in a very calming voice. ‘We uh… we need your help. You and Doctor Ramon.’

He was vaguely familiar, like she had seen him on TV, before. His name was Steve?

‘Show her, Buck.’, he said, and Caitlin turned to the other guy.

He started taking off the leather jacket he was wearing, but something was off, he wasn’t moving his left arm, at all. As the jacket fell to the ground, it revealed that he had a full metal arm.

‘I can’t move it, anymore.’, the guy said with difficulty.

Suddenly, Caitlin understood. Steve and Buck, metal arm. Captain America and the Winter Soldier were in the Cortex.

And Bucky’s metal arm was malfunctioning.

She swallowed thickly and pushed the intercom button. ‘Cisco? Cortex, now.’

He must have read something in her voice, because he breached to the Cortex, clearly ready for a fight.

Steve and Bucky were startled, staring at him.

‘Also’, Caitlin said, ‘Flash really is away for the day, so is Elongated Man. But Cisco is Vibe and I’m Frost.’

‘Okay.’, Steve said slowly. ‘That doesn’t… That’s not what we’re here for.’

‘Why are you here for, then? Captain America, Sir?’, Cisco’s voice was just a little too high, which made both Steve and Caitlin smile, a little.

‘This piece of Wakanda shit isn’t working, anymore.’, Bucky said, with feeling. ‘And the chick who made it is not answering her phone.’

Cisco’s wide eyes were pinned to Bucky’s arm and Caitlin knew that they were going to stay there for a long while.

‘We’ll help any way we can.’, Caitlin smiled at the two men. ‘You came to the right place.’

‘This is going to be very complicated.’, Cisco said, surprising her. He was never one to bow down from a challenge.

‘Yeah.’, Bucky smirked at Cisco. ‘You either fix it, or you take it off. I’ll be happy, either way.’

Cisco turned to look at Caitlin, with a very particular look, that spoke of bad times ahead, but also of determination.

She took a deep breath. ‘Cisco? Why don’t you show Steve where the coffee maker is, while I prep Bucky for tests?’

Bucky groaned at that, but he straightened his back. ‘I’m gonna bitch about it, but I’ll let you do whatever you need.’

‘You and every other superhero I’ve ever met.’, Caitlin chuckled. Then she made her way to the med lab, Bucky following her.

(｡♥‿♥｡)

An hour later, Bucky and Steve were sitting on a cot, drinking coffee and chatting in hushed tones.

Cisco was very focused on the arm’s schematics, which the men had brought, corroborating them with the scans they had taken of the arm that day. Caitlin had already looked over the schematics, the part where the tech met the muscles and nervous system.

She made her way to the men’s side. ‘You’re putting a lot of trust into us, showing us the schematics.’

The two shared a look, but it was Bucky that spoke.

‘We thought you were going to be a couple of boring geniuses. While the superhero part is a surprise, it just… helps to show that you are trustworthy.’

‘But why us, to start with?’

Bucky just raised an eyebrow at that.

‘I’m sure Stark had a bunch of boring geniuses on payroll. And the person who made the arm-’

‘Is not answering.’, Steve cut her off. ‘They’re dealing with something big, in Wakanda. And yes, we could have gone to Pepper, she would have found someone to help. But…’

When he didn’t go on, Bucky knocked their shoulders together.

‘They look at me with pity.’, he said slowly. ‘They just see what they read in Shield and Hydra files. I’m guessing you two haven’t read those.’

Caitin shook her head. ‘We didn’t really need to. Based on the date on your birth certificate, the schematics you’ve brought and the leaked footage from Thanos’ attacks… We don’t need to know more.’

‘History books!’, Cisco piped up. ‘We mustn't forget the history books!’

‘Right.’, Caitlin smiled, before her expression turned serious.

She leveled Bucky with a look. ‘Before we do anything to help you, the doctor in me needs to know how your… brain is. The human in me sees the way you look at Steve and that’s the only proof I need, but the doctor in me needs to know that whatever it was that made you do Hydra’s bidding for decades, is not there anymore.’

‘It’s a very long story, doc.’, Bucky said gently, looking into her eyes. ‘But I spent two years in Wakanda, working with the best doctors to remove Hydra’s mind control. It’s gone. You have my word that it’s gone.’

He took a deep breath and wrapped his flesh fingers around her wrist. ‘You’re safe with us.’

‘Oh, I know.’, she couldn’t help but smirk, letting Frost take over.

‘We can take care of ourselves, thank you very much. But in case you were going to turn psycho at any point, we could have prepared for that.’

Bucky took his hand away from hers, staring with his jaw dropped.

Then, he turned to Steve with a pout. ‘These superheroes are getting ridiculous. First, they shoot spider webs out of their wrists, then they lift buildings with the power of their minds. Now, this.’

Steve was trying really hard not to laugh. ‘Buddy, we’re 100 years old. We’re the first ridiculous superheroes.’

Caitlin came back at that. ‘Speaking of, I’m going to need to know your medical record.’

‘No.’, Bucky said quickly. ‘There’s a classified file, and it’s in Russian.’

She narrowed her eyes. ‘I need to know what sort of medicine I can and cannot use on you.’

Steve was the one who started talking, and he went on for a long, long while. Caitlin took notes. When he was done, Bucky batted his eyelashes at her.

‘Do you have a hair tie?’

She snorted, but she did not, in fact, have a hair tie. Wordlessly, she went to Cisco, who got up from his chair without saying anything. Caitlin got out the hair tie she knew he always carried in his back pocket.

‘Want me to do it?’, she asked Bucky, who was quick to nod.

It didn’t take long to put his hair in a low ponytail, and she made sure to be very gentle. Just as she was done, Cisco came to their side.

First, he kissed Caitlin’s cheek, wrapping an arm around her waist, which was weird. Then, he addressed the men.

‘There’s a couple of circuits that are completely fried. I can change them, and I think it’ll work, but…’ He took a shaky breath. ‘You’ll need to be knocked out when I change them-’

‘I can do that.’, Caitlin nodded.

‘But the circuits are part of the nervous system.’

‘So I’ll need to be awake when you calibrate them.’, Bucky understood.

After a moment, Caitlin managed to smile. ‘I can do that, too.’

‘Of course you can.’, Cisco said, happily so, kissing her temple. ‘I’m going to need a few hours to prep.’

With that, he all but ran out of the lab, leaving a frowning Caitlin in his wake.

‘So how long have you two been together?’, Bucky asked in a very teasing tone.

‘We’re not.’, she answered weakly.

Both men snorted at that.

‘No, really?’, Steve frowned, not believing it.

Caitlin just shrugged.

‘Girl’, Bucky said with feeling, ‘that ain’t right.’

She glared at him, but it clearly lacked strength, considering the way both Steve and Bucky were snickering. But then Bucky kissed Steve, straight on the lips, grinning at Caitlin afterwards.

‘If we managed to do it, you two can probably figure it out.’

‘I am NOT talking about my love life with you!’, Caitlin said strongly. ‘I’m going to have your blood on my hands in a few hours, so I suggest you behave!’

Bucky, the mad man, kept on grinning. ‘ _ Love  _ life, huh?’

‘Stop it.’, she glared. ‘And come on. We have a guest room, and you need to rest before surgery. It’s nap time.’

‘I love nap time.’, Steve smiled, grabbing Bucky’s hand and dragging him, following Caitlin.

Was she thinking really hard about what the hell was going through Cisco’s head? Yes, yes she was. But she only allowed herself to do that in the time it took them to get settled in the guest room.

After that, she had to prep for surgery, too.

(｡♥‿♥｡)

The way Steve kissed Bucky before he went under anesthesia, it spoke of a love strong enough to defeat anything. Caitlin looked at them and felt like her entire body was shaking.

The way Cisco grabbed Caitlin’s cheek and gently kissed her forehead, it spoke of things that were never spoken before. It spoke of love and longing, and a lot of things that Caitlin was too afraid to let herself feel, of things she was afraid to see in Cisco.

‘Come on, snowflake.’, he said sweetly. ‘We have an arm to fix.’

He turned around and his voice changed drastically. ‘Guys, while this is lovely and super hot, stop it with the tongue wrestling, we have work to do.’

(｡♥‿♥｡)

The first part of surgery took the better part of two hours. Cisco took off the arm and worked on it separately. During this time, Caitlin didn’t do much, but monitor Bucky’s vitals.

She woke him up after Cisco had reattached the arm.

From then on, it was a different story. Until Cisco managed to calibrate whatever he needed to, Bucky was in pain. He was supposed to move each and every one of his metal muscles, one at a time. He did it, but it hurt. He yelled, sometimes. He cried, he groaned, he cursed.

It was difficult to watch, because Caitlin couldn’t do anything to help him.

She couldn’t help but watch Cisco, too. Because he was… incredible. Somehow, he managed to completely ignore the signs of pain that Bucky was displaying. He was compassionate and supportive, making jokes and saying things to keep Bucky fighting. But it was clear that he was focusing on the work that he needed to do.

It took the better part of an hour, but Cisco did it.

Bucky could freely move his arm, and it didn’t hurt anymore.

When he was convinced about it, Cisco all but collapsed in a chair. There were tears in his eyes and his bottom lip was trembling.

Bucky was still crying, and Steve was quick to sit down next to him and hug him very tightly.

Caitlin went to Cisco’s side and bravely sat in his lap, as she gently wrapped her arms around his shoulders, pushing their cheeks together.

‘You are amazing.’, she whispered.

‘So are you.’, came the quick response.

Caitlin took a deep breath. ‘I wasn’t talking about the surgery.’

‘Yeah, me neither.’

She didn’t know which of them moved first, but they kissed and it was so soft and so loving, it melted all of Caitlin’s insides. Cisco too, relaxed in her hold, and the kiss grew a little in passion.

‘Didn’t she say they weren’t together?’, she heard Steve ask in an amused tone.

Bucky snorted. ‘You actually believed her?’

Cisco stopped the kiss at that, pulling his head back and narrowing his eyes at her.

‘What?’, she bristled. ‘We weren’t together this morning!’

‘But you are together now, right?’, Bucky asked.

Caitlin and Cisco shared a short look, before they both said, very strongly, a loud ‘Yes!’


	25. #25 FAVORITE VILLAIN ALTEREGO

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Cisco didn’t know where Frost stood, when it came to him and Caitlin.

The fact that Cisco fell in love with Caitlin was not surprising, at all.

What was surprising was that, at one point, she started falling in love with him, too. Cisco was absolutely certain of it, there was no doubt in his mind.

The doubt came from Frost.

Cisco didn’t know what… her place was. If he and Caitlin were to start a relationship, what did that mean for Frost?

He knew where he stood, with Frost. He liked her, a lot. He loved her, much. If he let himself, he could fall in love with her, as easily as he fell in love with Caitlin.

But he knew that, at the end of the day, it wasn’t a decision that he could make. He knew that Caitlin would not accept to be with him, if Frost didn’t agree to it first.

So he needed to talk to Frost.

(｡♥‿♥｡)

Easier said than done.

Every time Cisco managed to get her alone, Frost would not be in the mood for a serious talk. Either that, or she really didn’t realize what Cisco was trying to do.

He caved after a nasty night.

Frost had been hurt, and was now in the medlab, waiting for the healing to kick in. Cisco was, of course, by her side.

She was in pain, a little, clearly tired, but not tired enough to sleep. They were all alone in Star Labs, and Cisco was still a little shaky, having had her blood on his hands an hour ago.

Good time as any, really, to bring this up.

‘Hey, Frost? I have a question.’

‘No, we’re not watching Star Wars.’

‘No’, he snorted, ‘this is… This is serious.’

She narrowed her eyes, instantly becoming apprehensive.

Cisco took a deep breath, and made a point to look at her as he spoke.

‘I know that you and Caitlin have an understanding of each other’s lives, and I know that neither of you are too keen to talk about it.’

She raised an eyebrow at that.

‘What I’m wondering’, he pushed on, ‘is what do you two plan on doing in the event of… a relationship.’

‘A relationship?’, Frost frowned.

‘A romantic one.’

Her eyes grew very wide at that.

‘What are you…’, she shook her head. ‘Did you talk to Caity about this?’

‘No, I figured I needed you to agree to it, first.’

She seemed genuinely shocked by that.

‘Cisco, what exactly are you talking about?’

It took a few moments for him to be able to answer that.

‘I know that if I ask Caitlin out, she’s going to say yes. And I know that if we do this, there’s a very high change it’s going to be… serious. I’m asking you, Frost, if you’d be okay with that.’

She just stared at him, for a long while. Then, she rolled her eyes, clearly annoyed.

‘Caity, Cisco and I are going to have a conversation now, so will you please shut up? You’ll get your turn.’

He groaned at that.

Honestly, Cisco was feeling very embarrassed, this whole discussion was utterly embarrassing, and he knew that it would only get worse and worse.

‘Before I answer you question, I’m going to need you to answer one of mine.’ Frost glared at him. ‘I wanna know if you’ll ever be able to look at me the way you look at her.’

Cisco’s brain kind of short-wired at that, because…

‘Would you want that?’

Suddenly, Frost seemed to be embarrassed.

‘Tell me, please.’, Cisco breathed out.

Frost nodded once and looked away from him. ‘Caity and I, yeah, we like different things. We act differently, we see the world differently. Mostly.’

‘Mostly?’

She looked at him, then. ‘When it comes to the big, i mportant things, Caity and I are on the same level. So if she’ll be serious about you, then so will I. If she’s in love with you…’ Her voice broke, but she pushed on. ‘I’m not there, yet, but I’ll get there.’

Cisco felt like the ground beneath him would open up, he was shaking so hard.

But she had said her piece, it was time for him to do the same.

‘I have been in love with Caitlin for a long while, now.’, he spoke slowly, trying to make sense of his jumble of thoughts. He needed her to understand.

‘It was a slow process, nice and steady. It grew with every day we spent together, every project we made, every… heartbreak, panic attack and…’

‘You’ve been through a lot together.’, Frost said gently when he didn’t go on. ‘I know, Caity and I share memories, too.’

Cisco nodded at that.

‘But you and me’, she went on, ‘we don’t have that many memories together.’

‘We don’t.’, he agreed. ‘But I still find myself drawn to you.’

She blushed at that, which was something that was as rare as Barry making a good joke.

‘I’m not in love with you, yet. But I’ll get there.’ His words, though whispered and delivered with difficulty, they had an effect on Frost.

Slowly, she smiled. Her blush did not go away, and her eyes sparkled with something very warm. It was that look that gave Cisco the strength to ask the next question.

‘So, if you lovely ladies are free this Friday, how about I take you out for dinner and a movie? You choose which one of you goes to which.’

‘Yeah.’, Frost was quick to say. Then, she tilted her head and looked past him.

She grinned. ‘Caity says yes, too. But until then, we can watch some Star Wars tonight.’

And just like that, Cisco relaxed. And got real excited for what was to come.


	26. #26 FAVORITE POLYAMORY SHIP

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hartley is a part of Team Flash, now, and Caitlin is more than fine with it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [Caitlin and the Babes](https://sssssssim.tumblr.com/post/141970988556/caitlin-and-the-babes)
> 
> Please notE that I have never! in my life! neither read or written a poly fic. S O here ya have it, it's trash.

The weird part wasn’t actually having Hartley in Star Labs. Caitlin was used to that, from a time long before.

The weird part was that she was actually enjoying having Hartley around.

He was different. Well, no, he was still a sarcastic asshole, still drove her and Cisco up the walls, but in the times when it mattered, he was different.

Pied Piper fought alongside the team every time he was needed. He rarely offered to go out with them, but he always came when they called.

Not only that, but he spent time with them at Star Labs. Helping Cisco in his workshop, helping and bantering all the while. Brainstorming with Caitlin in her med lab, bantering all the while. In the Cortex, helping them come up with an idea to defeat the meta-human of the week.

They all got used to Hartley being there. While at first, he just came when they called, in the past months he came more and more often, to the point where he was there every day, now.

It was more than that, though. Hartley wasn’t just part of Team Flash, he was their friend. Especially Caitlin and Cisco’s.

First, he got close to Cisco. It happened after a very nasty fight. There was screaming, yelling, cursing, a lot of hurtful things said by both of them. At the end of it, they were both shaking, crying in frustration, so angry that their powers had started acting up.

But something happened that night. Caitlin didn’t know the whole story, she just got pieces from both of them. They must have talked about it, and about a whole lot more, she assumed, because the next day they acted like nothing happened. And from then on, there were no more fights, no more arguments. Well, not any real ones, anyway. And she knew that they went to each other at times, for support. 

With Caitlin, it did not happen like that. After Hartley started being a permanent resident of Star Labs, he got close to Frost. There was a kinship there, that neither of them wanted to acknowledge, but they did have something in common: they both used to be supervillains. Also, they were both assholes, so of course they got along.

His friendship with Caitlin came later, and it involved being trapped in the pipeline for 29 hours. There was a virus in the Star Labs mainframe, and it took Cisco a lot of time to crack it. Meanwhile, Caitlin and Hartley were stuck, having been working on something there.

It was a long 29 hours, and they were both very frustrated, to begin with. After an hour, Caitlin offered Frost up, thinking the two of them will have an easier time together. Hartley refused, saying ‘You’re my friend, too.’ That was a lie, in that moment, but after spending 26 hours together, sleeping on each other’s shoulders, turning their backs when the other one went to the bathroom and talking about anything and everything to keep each other from boredom… They were friends after it.

The three of them, well the four of them, Cisco, Hartley, Caitlin and Frost, they became friends. They all cared about Hartley just as much as they cared for each other, for Iris and Barry, Ralph.

From that point on, it didn’t take long for the flirting to start. It was ridiculous, really.

With Cisco, the flirting was borderline aggressive, you couldn’t actually separate the bantering and insulting from the flirting.

With Frost, the flirting was borderline kinky, paired with winks and laughter.

With Caitlin, the flirting was sweet and polite, the kind that was usually followed by chocolate and flowers.

While they all answered Hartley’s flirts, they all knew it didn’t really mean anything. He wasn’t serious, it was all just for laughs.

And then, one night, Cisco and Hartley were at Caitlin’s apartment. They ordered food, had some drinks, watched some tv.

As the guys were getting ready to leave, Hartley said something to Caitlin that was such a ridiculous innuendo, it made the tip of her ears turn red and her stomach flutter.

In a good way, though. That kept happening, in the past weeks, every time Hartley flirted with her.

She took a shaky breath and leveled him with a look.

‘You know, Hartley? Things would be very different if you also liked women.’

His jaw dropped at that, literally, as Cisco frowned profoundly. They were both staring at her, which was to be expected.

Hartley recovered first, and he glared at Caitlin, even though it lacked strength. ‘Keep your pants on, Caitlin. Or no, better yet. Take your pants off and have some fun with Cisco, will you? The pinning between you two is getting ridiculous.’

It was Cisco’s turn to blush, but he did smile, a little, at her. ‘That’s not a terrible idea. But, I mean…’, he looked to Hartley, looked at him from head to tow. ‘Why stop there?’

Again, Hartley’s jaw dropped, this time as he stared at Cisco.

Caitlin chuckled, because her boys were ridiculous and she liked them both, very much.

‘I’m gonna be in my bedroom.’ Her voice sounded a little breathless. ‘It’s up to you, if either one of you, or both of you, come to join me.’

She turned her back and all but ran to her bedroom, making herself comfortable in the middle of the bed. 

But a few minutes later, the door opened, albeit slowly. She knew that whoever was on the other side of it, they were going to be having one hell of a good night together.


	27. #27 FAVORITE OTP MOMENT

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> One that hasn’t happened yet: first kiss.

It had been a rough couple of days. Cisco didn’t even want to remember it.

But the truth was that there was a vicious metahuman, who killed a lot of people in a short period of time. They stopped him, but Barry got hurt in the process.

Very hurt.

He was in a coma for three days.

Three days, time in which Caitlin did not sleep, did not eat, barely drank something other than coffee.

Barry was fine, now. His healing kicked in, with Caitlin’s help, and he was up and running without any lasting damage.

But that didn’t change the fact that Caitlin spent three days thinking that he wasn’t going to wake up.

(｡♥‿♥｡)

Cisco took her home. As she took a long shower, he made some food.

They ate in silence, side by side at the kitchen table.

Then Cisco took a shower, put on a pajama he had left at her apartment a long time ago. Actually, he was sure he left it when she was living in two places prior.

When he came out, Caitlin was on the couch, curled up into a ball, silently crying.

He didn’t hesitate. Cisco sat down next to her and wrapped himself around her as much as he could. With her head on his chest and his arms around her, Caitlin cried.

And cried, and cried, and cried.

Cisco did not say a word. He just held her tightly, gently ran his fingers through her hair, wiped her tears every now and then.

It took a long while for Caitlin to calm down, and even then, she didn’t move away from Cisco’s hold.

‘You need to sleep.’, Cisco said gently.

Caitlin nodded, but she still took a few moments before she moved. When Cisco moved to let go, she made a whining sound. So he held her, with just a little less force.

She looked at him, and Cisco looked back. He still saw pain in her eyes, and he hated seeing it there. He would give an arm, a leg and a kidney to never see this look in Caitlin’s eyes. He knew that he wasn’t powerful enough to keep her forever away from this pain, but he will do everything that he could.

He would do anything for her. And if right then, Caitlin needed to be held and to stare at Cisco, that was what he would let her do.

But she had other plans.

Caitlin closed her eyes, took a deep, shaky breath, and pressed her lips to his.

This didn’t surprise Cisco, not really. It was a long time coming. This thing between them, it grew in the past weeks, but it had been brewing for years.

Cisco was going to say something, soon. Caitlin beat him to it.

Of course, he did not hesitate to kiss her back. Gently, sweetly, unhurried. As soft as he could possibly be.

But as Caitlin gave a full body shiver, Cisco pulled back. ‘You need to rest.’

She looked away at that, averted her eyes, probably thinking of the worse.

So Cisco gently grabbed her cheek, forced her to look at him. She was apprehensive, frowning slightly.

First, he kissed that frown away. Then, he kissed her lips again, quickly.

‘I’m not going anywhere.’, Cisco said gently. ‘But you really need sleep.’

‘You’ll stay?’

He smiled, wildly, hoping to convey just how happy he was about the kiss. 

‘I’ll stay for as long as you want me, but right now? We’re taking this to bed and I have never, in my life, said those words in an innocent manner. Until now.’

Caitlin chuckled, weakly. ‘If I wake up tomorrow and you won’t be there, holding me tightly, I’m going to be very pissed off, Cisco.’

‘Not gonna happen.’

He sealed that promise with a kiss and then they went to Caitlin’s bedroom, where they both quickly fell asleep.

In the morning, Caitlin woke him up by groaning that she couldn’t breathe. Well… he did promise to hold her tightly.


	28. #28 FAVORITE KILLERVIBE INSPIRED SONG

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I've been reading books of old / The legends and the myths / Achilles and his gold / Hercules and his gifts / Spiderman's control / And Batman with his fists / And clearly I don't see myself upon that list / But she said, where'd you wanna go? / How much you wanna risk? / I'm not looking for somebody / With some superhuman gifts / Some superhero / Some fairytale bliss / Just something I can turn to / Somebody I can kiss / I want something just like this
> 
> [ **[The Chainsmokers & Coldplay - Something Like This]** ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FM7MFYoylVs)

When Kamilla broke it off with Cisco, he immersed himself in his work. Not only that, but he obsessively did everything that he could to become Vibe again.

In his head, he was convinced that the failure of his relationship with Kamilla meant that he will never find the happiness that he dreamt of, that he will never have a family like he wanted.

So he stopped trying, focused on being the best superhero, instead.

Of course, that wasn’t so easy, either. There were times when he made mistakes, or he moved too slow. He was, after all, human.

Usually, those types of mistakes didn’t cut him too deep, because they always saved the day, in the end.

But this particular Tuesday, a minor mistake got to Cisco.

He had opened up a breach, just a few streets to the left. It cost him a few minutes of not being able to join the fight, and Barry broke an arm in the meantime.

It wasn’t that big of a deal, but Cisco took it like a knife to the heart.

So here they were, in his workshop. Cisco was angry, frustrated, yelling and screaming. Not just about the lapse in breaching, his rant started there, but it grew to everything that was wrong in Cisco’s life.

Bottom line was that he was lonely. He wanted love, in his life, he wanted it desperately. But he thought that he couldn’t get it, while he was still Vibe. And now, he thought that he was crap at being that.

In his mind, Cisco couldn’t do well either of those things. He wanted a perfect love story, and he wanted to be the perfect superhero.

‘Well say something!’, he finally exploded, looking at Caitlin. ‘Don’t just sit there, being all pretty.’

She snorted at that. She hadn’t been home in two days, she was wearing Star Labs merch and her hair was a mess. She didn’t look pretty.

And she didn’t feel pretty. In fact, the only thing she felt right then was pain.

‘I don’t understand how somebody as brilliant as you can be so stupid.’

Cisco’s face fell, all the anger was washed away and was replaced with hurt. ‘What?’ 

She took a deep breath and forced herself to calm down. Or to, at least, speak in a calmer manner.

‘Why do you want something so… perfect?’

Cisco frowned.

‘Why do you want to be the perfect superhero, when you don’t need to? We’re a team, Cisco. We don’t need you to be perfect, we just need you to be there.’

‘But-’

‘No.’, she shook her head. ‘None of us is perfect. We’ve all screwed up, but the important thing is that we have a team that has your back! You don’t need to be perfect, Cisco. You just need to trust that we’ll be there to pick up the pieces.’

‘That’s not…’, he shook his head. ‘This isn’t about a lack of trust in you guys.’

‘No, this is about a lack of trust in yourself.’

Caitlin closed her eyes and went on.

‘And why do you have to have a perfect love story? Why do you want a  _ normal  _ one? Why can’t you just accept that not all of us are going to be as lucky as Iris and Barry in that department? You can easily be loved, Cisco. It doesn’t… it doesn’t have to be perfect, it just has to be.’

He snorted, humorously. ‘There isn’t anything. Anyone.’

Caitlin felt tears coming on, and she wasn’t able to stop them. They seemed to shock Cisco, because the mildly aggressive way he was looking at her disappeared.

She forced herself to look at him as she spoke.

‘Vibe or… Mr. Ramon, the stay at home husband, it doesn’t matter, Cisco. You’re brilliant, you’re smart, you’re kind, you’re wonderful.’

Caitlin had to pause, and take a shaky breath.

‘You’re beautiful and there is nothing you need to change about yourself. Not a single thing.’

That rendered him speechless. Caitlin took her leave, not even bothering to make up an excuse.

(｡♥‿♥｡)

An hour later, he was knocking on her door.

Caitlin had spent the last hour crying her eyes out, and he looked about as well as she felt.

‘You women are ridiculous!’, was the first thing he said, which made Caitlin very confused, so he managed to move past her and into the apartment.

Once in the living room, Cisco stopped and glared at her. He wasn’t so much angry, as he was hurt. She still saw the hurt in his eyes, and it matched the one she felt in her heart.

‘Why don’t you just say what the hell it is you want to say?’, Cisco asked, very loudly. ‘Seriously, you went on and on about how wonderful I was and I didn’t get that.’

His voice grew wild and he looked absolutely insane. ‘Caitlin, I have no idea what you said so please, for the love of the Speed Force, just tell me exactly what you meant.’

‘You can be with me!’, Caitlin found herself screaming. ‘You can be with me, and be Vibe and be in love and-’

Her voice broke and so did her composure. She started crying, again.

‘Damn it, Cisco. I’m right here! I’m… I’m  _ right here _ . And I don’t need you to be better than Batman or the Flash, I don’t want a fairytale love story, I just want you.’

She stopped screaming. When she spoke again, her voice was barely heard.

‘I just want you, Cisco. Exactly the way you are.’

The way he was looking at her, it broke Caitlin even more. He was surprised and… unbelieving.

She needed to step away, but he was in her apartment. The best she could do was to turn around, wrap her arms around herself and try her best to control her breathing.

He called her name and she couldn’t turn around to face him, she couldn’t.

‘Cait.’, he tried again, very gently. ‘You better not be kidding.’ 

That made her turn around, looking at him with clear incredulity. Slowly, Cisco’s frown turned into a smile.

‘Was that so hard?’, he chuckled weekly. ‘All you had to say was  _ Cisco, I want to be with you _ . That was it.’

She made a show of pointing out the tears still on her face, her shaking hands and her chest, where her heart was beating at an insane pace.

‘Does it look like this was easy?’, she couldn’t help but sass.

Again, he chuckled. Then, he rolled his eyes and marched up to her, hugging her tightly.

‘We’ve both been idiots, today.’, he said against her hair. ‘Can we at least agree to that?’

Caitlin nodded.

She felt Cisco take a deep breath, and then he felt his fingers on her chin. He gently lifted her head, and before Caitlin gathered enough courage to open her eyes, Cisco pressed their lips together.

It was a short kiss, but it calmed Caitlin down immediately.

Not only that, but instantly, she felt happiness booming inside her chest.

When Cisco stopped kissing her, he just pulled away the bare minimum.

‘Was that easy?’, he whispered, smiling wildly. ‘Hard? Diffi-’

‘Perfect.’, Caitlin cut him off. ‘That was perfect.’


	29. #29 A SCENE/EPISODE YOU’D REWRITE

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Season 5, Episode 14: Cisco and Kamilla's 52 First Dates.

Cisco tried, really he did.

He went on a date with Kamilla. And another. And another.

He vibed all of them, he saw how awful they all went. Yet, he tried, again and again.

Tried to make himself into something that he was not, something that she would like better.

He failed horribly, each time.

Like he told Nora, he was so worried about his first date since Cynthia, that he didn’t feel free to be himself around Kamilla. And he knew, from his vibes, that he was going to screw it up massively. He saw it clearly.

But that’s not all that he saw.

After each failed date, he had gone to Caitlin. And she, without fail, always made him feel better.

She told him about how he didn’t need to be someone else. That he was a great guy, smart and caring, funny and cute. Kamilla would like him the best, not all these modified versions of himself that didn’t come close to the real deal.

In all those vibes, Cisco saw Caitlin changing his mind.

And now, in the last time loop, where they all survived and all went well, Caitlin, Nora and Ralph pushed him to go to Kamilla, go on a date and just be himself.

But on his way to Jitters, it wasn’t Kamilla that Cisco kept seeing. It was Caitlin.

He couldn’t get it out of his head, the way she spoke about him in all those vibes. They were best friends, she was contractually obligated to say nice things about him, but it was more than that. The love that Caitlin had in her eyes, it spoke of a lot more than just… trying to lift her bff’s morale.

As Cisco grabbed the handle on the Jitters door, he came to a realisation that had him faltering.

He knew Caitlin very well. He knew exactly how she looked when she was in love, because he had seen it time and time again in the past.

So how could he have missed it, in all those time loops? How could he have missed the way Caitlin looked at him? The way Caitlin loved him?

He looked inside of the coffee shop, saw Kamilla waiting for him. And Cisco… felt nothing.

Not anxiousness, not excitement, not anything he would have usually felt on a first date.

He felt absolutely nothing when he looked at Kamilla, nothing compared to the way he felt when he saw Caitlin behind his eyelids.

(｡♥‿♥｡)

‘I’m sorry, Kamilla, but I can’t do this.’

Her face fell, but she managed to smile at him. ‘This is a record. I mean, you’ve been here all of five minutes and-’

‘You’re lovely.’, he cut her off. ‘You are, and I’m sure that in… an alternate universe, we would have been nice together.’

She frowned. ‘Alternate universe. Right. But not in this one.’

Cisco shook his head.

‘Why?’, Kamilla asked.

It was a simple question, with a very complicated answer. But she deserved an answer.

‘I think I have a shot with someone that I… never let myself even think about.’

‘How can you stop yourself from thinking about someone?’

Cisco chuckled at that. ‘You deny yourself the fact that you love her more than you should and you completely ignore the way your heart haywires when she smiles at you.’

It took a moment, but Kamilla smiled. ‘Well then you gotta take that shot.’

‘I… I really am sorry.’

‘It’s okay. I’ll be okay, I… I appreciate the fact that you told me the truth.’

Cisco took his leave soon after, and he didn’t run to Caitlin’s place, but he did breach there.

(｡♥‿♥｡)

‘What are you doing here?’, she frowned. ‘What happened to your date?’

‘I cut it off before it started.’

‘Cisco! Why would you do that?’

He took a deep breath. ‘So here’s the thing. These past… time loops, I wasn’t just vibing my dates with Kamilla. I was vibing the aftermath, too.’

She frowned at that, making herself comfortable on the couch. Cisco couldn’t sit still enough to sit down next to her.

‘After every disastrous date, I came to you. And every time, without fault, you made me feel better.’

Caitlin smiled at that, but it was clear that she didn’t know where this was going.

‘But I saw more than what you were saying, in those vibes. I saw more… in your eyes.’

‘What did you see?’

‘I saw that there’s a way, there’s a chance, a version of this where I don’t take the cure.’

Her face immediately fell at that, and she looked away.

‘I don’t take the cure’, Cisco went on, ‘but I still get what I want. A wife, maybe kids. Maybe we don’t get there, but I get the… love that I want.’

It took a long time for Caitlin to look back at him. ‘What are you saying?’

His voice shook, but he needed to say it. So he did.

‘I’m saying that… Caitlin, if I have a shot at a life of happiness  _ with you _ , then I wanna take it.’

Her eyes grew very wide.

‘What about Kamilla?’, she whispered.

Cisco shook his head. ‘I explained as nicely as I could. She’s… I couldn’t.’

‘Why not?’

‘Caitlin.’, he breathed out. ‘I’ve always been at least a little in love with you. I just never thought I stood a chance, before today.’

‘Oh.’, she breathed out, barely audible.

Cisco had a joke on two on hand as a reply, but he bit his tongue to keep himself from saying them out loud. This was not the time.

‘We can’t do this today.’, Caitlin finally said. ‘But how about tomorrow? We can go out for lunch.’

His heart didn’t beat out of his chest, but he had to check if it really didn’t happen.

‘Yeah, okay. Lunch, tomorrow. It’s a date?’

‘Yeah.’, Caitlin smiled. ‘It’s a date.’

The both took a moment to just look at each other and calm down.

Cisco recovered first. ‘I’m gonna go. And uh… talk to Nora. Make sure she doesn’t go back in time 52 times tomorrow.’

Caitlin laughed at that, out loud. She also kissed his cheek before he left, and told him, around a blush, that she couldn’t wait for tomorrow.

52 time loops… And number 53 was absolutely the best one of them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> SO TOMORROW IS THE LAST FIC  
> and it's a 4k long one, involving a different planet and mentions of several different aliens :)


	30. #30 YOU CHOOSE: Stargate Atlantis AU

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Cisco knew that joining Stargate Command was going to be interesting, to say the least. And he knew, furthermore, that joining the Atlantis expedition was going to be a new level of weird, in another galaxy. But having Doctor Snow hate his guts, for no apparent reason? He didn’t expect that.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've been bingewatching the Stargates this pandemic, and I wanna start a fic. So, to smooth the transition, here's a Stargate Atlantis killervibe AU. If you don't know anything about it... I'm sorry. Wraith are evil aliens, Ancients and Azgards are good aliens. You'll figure the rest of it out :)

The fact that Cisco actually got used to living on Atlantis was unexpected.

The fact that he actually got used to being part of a team, that was nice. The fact that he became friends with his team, that was incredible.

Lt. Colonel Barry Allen quickly became his best friend, even if they sometimes still acted like they hated each other. Iris West always listened when he came to her, showcasing an amount of understanding that always soothed Cisco’s anxieties. Ralph was still the odd one out, not because he was an alien, but because he hadn’t worked with people in a long while, and it showed.

Cisco cared about them, which was to be expected, considering the near death situations they had found themselves in. But there were more people, in Atlantis, that made his way into his heart. One way or another.

Joe West, who was both Iris and Barry’s father, the leader of their expedition, he let the team get away with a lot of shit, because his kids were on it. But Cisco liked him more for the fact that he was fair and a no nonsense kind of guy.

There were people, in the science department, that he worked with closely, or various military personnel on teams that helped them on missions.. They were just coworkers, but he knew that they had his back, and he had theirs. That’s the way things went in Atlantis.

Cisco had always been a loner, because of his brains and his social anxiety. But in Atlantis, he fit in. To a point.

And that point was Doctor Caitlin Snow. She lead the med team on Atlantis, and she wasn’t just a doctor of medicine, but a bioengeneer too. She was gorgeous, brilliant, funny, caring, and she hated Cisco’s guts.

He had no idea what he did to deserve it, but he accepted the fact that he probably did something nasty.

Cisco just wished he could fix it, but no matter how hard he tried, they always ended up fighting. Everyone else thought it was hilarious, and he let them think that, mostly to disguise his pain and frustration.

(｡♥‿♥｡)

They were on M8V-352, a planet with a hot sun, humid weather and a lot of sand.

There was an Ancient outpost there, for reasons nobody understood. It was in an underground cave that was clearly artificially made. There was not a lot left in the outpost, it’s been deserted for thousands of years. But there was a database with research about a whole lot of plans.

Like, a whole fucking lot of plants and what they could do, medicinally speaking.

Barry’s team were basically just babysitting Snow. Cisco managed to power up a terminal with a naquadah generator, and he was now copying the entire database. But it was a long process, that will take a full 24 hours.

Meanwhile, Snow started translating, because of course she learned Ancient. Cisco gave her a wide berth, but he hung around close, just in case something happened with the generator or the download.

Barry, Iris and Ralph were, for lack of a better word, sunbathing. They were nice and invited them to join, but Snow was completely lost in the plant research and Cisco didn’t think there was enough sunscreen in the world to make him go outside. At least underground, under the safety of the rocks, it was just a little bit cooler than hell’s temperatures that were outside.

He was extremely bored, though. Snow was ignoring him completely, which was fine by him, cause that meant they weren’t fighting.

Just as Cisco decided to make himself comfortable on the ground and take a nap, the earth started shaking. It was an earthquake, and a pretty nasty one, too.

Cisco surprised himself. His brain told him to run to the doorway and sit under the doorframe, but his legs told him to run to Snow’s side. He pushed her to the ground and covered her with his frame, as well as he could.

He got a few blows on his back, that pushed him even more into Snow, and he felt blood trickling down his face, but he managed to hold his position until the earthquake stopped.

And even after that, he took a few moments to just breathe in.

‘Cisco, come in.’, Barry’s voice came through the radio. ‘Cisco, please come in.’

He didn’t move, stared at Snow instead, at the shocked look in her eyes.

She reached for her radio. ‘We’re here, Colonel.’

‘Are you hurt?’

Snow touched the side of Cisco’s head, and he flinched, badly. He moved away from her, sat down on the ground.

‘Uh, Ramon has a bump on the head, he probably needs stitches. And I…’, she moved her legs and flinched. ‘Definitely sprained my ankle.’

There was silence, for a long while, before Ralph responded. ‘The entrance tunnel caved in, we’re cut off from you.’

Her eyes grew wide at that, and she stared at Cisco, evidently afraid. ‘I have med supplies, I can take care of us. And we have enough food and water for a couple of days.’

‘There’s no other way to get in the lab.’, Cisco added. ‘I checked.’

‘Right.’, Barry answered. ‘Stay put, we’ll figure something out. Allen out.’

Cisco groaned, layed down on the ground. ‘The Daedalus just left back to Earth and even if it was close, I’m not sure they could beam us out from so far underground.’

‘They’ll figure something else out.’, Snow said, meekly.

He snorted at that. ‘At least there’s air.’

‘What?’

‘There are several air locks throughout the lab, one of them is right there.’, he pointed to the ceiling. ‘Too small to use them to get out, but at least we won’t die of asphyxiation.’

She didn’t say anything. When he looked at her, he saw the way her entire body was shaking. She was still afraid, but she was also in pain, evidently.

Cisco swallowed thickly and got up, groaning all the while. ‘Okay, Doctor Snow. I assume your ankle’s gonna need a splint, but you’re going to have to guide me through that.’

‘Your head-’

‘You’ll deal with it later.’ He reached for her, grabbed her by the waist and managed to lift her up. She flinched, really badly, and closed her eyes shut.

‘I really hope you have painkillers, too.’, Cisco said gently.

She nodded. ‘Just give me a minute.’

There was no way she was able to walk, not even the short distance to the wall, where all their stuff was. Cisco, probably with his adrenaline levels running high, managed to pick her up bridal style.

She yelped, in pain, but she also wrapped her arms tightly around his shoulders and pushed her face to the crook of his neck.

Cisco was as gentle as he could, as he laid her down on the ground.

She started crying, but still directed him through making a splint for an ankle. Cisco was impressed with the amount of control she displayed, she only screamed twice even though she was clearly in a lot of pain.

Wordlessly, he gave her painkillers, and she hesitated for a moment, but she did swallow them dry.

‘Hey, guys.’, he radioed in. ‘Doctor Snow’s ankle is definitely busted, I made a splint and gave her painkillers. We’re pretty set here, there’s air coming in and we have rations for three days, maybe four. But we’d really really  _ really  _ like to get out of here before that.’

‘We’re working on it.’, Barry sounded breathless. ‘Slight problem, though. Requesting radio silence, Allen out.’

Cisco cursed, whispered and filthy. ‘That’s all we get, really?’

‘They’ll be fine.’, Snow said shakily. ‘We’ll be fine.’

He didn’t disagree with her, only because he knew she didn’t need to hear his negativity right then. Cisco got up and dusted himself off.

‘Get some rest, doc. I’ll try to-’

‘No, come here. I need to clean your wound before I completely pass out.’

‘It’s fine, I can-’

‘I said come here, Ramon!’ The glare she sent his way was truly a thing of beauty and strength.

He sat back down. Reluctantly, he gave her the med kit and got closer, so that she could have access to his wound without moving too much. She put a few butterfly bandages on the side of his head, but it wasn’t too bad. He’s had worse.

Then Snow promptly passed out.

Cisco took a few minutes to just lay on the ground and calm down. He hoped his team was okay. And he hoped they were going to find a way to get them out.

But just in case they didn’t, he got up and started looking at the lab schematics again. Maybe he’ll see a way out, this time around.

(｡♥‿♥｡)

Two hours later, Snow was still asleep, Cisco had not found a way out and he actually startled when his radio turned on, with Barry’s tired voice.

‘There’s a wraith outpost on the other side of the planet. It’s small, and it looks like they have contact by ship, not by Stargate.’

‘That doesn’t mean they can’t track our lifesigns.’

‘Uh, about that. They can’t. Cause we can’t, either.’

Cisco frowned deeply, at that. ‘What?’

‘Look, the jumper isn’t picking up any life signs in your general vicinity.’

‘So… the stone is shielding us? But it still allows radio transmissions to get through? That doesn’t make any sense.’

‘I don’t know, man.’, Barry sighed. ‘I’m happy for it, though.’

‘Yeah, yeah.’, Cisco nodded. ‘Any plans of getting us out of here?’

‘What? You didn’t come up with one yet?’

He glared at the space in front of him. ‘I’m in a bio lab, underground, with limited power and resources so limited, there aren’t actually any. So no, Barry, I haven’t come up with a plan yet, aside from kicking my heels three times and saying  _ there’s no place like home _ .’

Barry had the audacity to laugh at that. ‘Look, we’re working on it. We have five ideas that we’re still figuring out.’

Cisco huffed. ‘What about the wraith?’

‘We’re monitoring them closely. You’re safe for now, there’s no indication they know you’re there.’

‘I don’t like this.’, he admitted in a small voice.

‘We’ll get you out.’, Barry said gently. ‘Just… keep your head on straight, take care of Caitlin’s ankle and maybe, if possible, don’t kill each other?’

At that, Cisco looked to Snow. She was awake, watching him, but she didn’t say anything, she just rolled her eyes and wiggled herself around the makeshift nest they made, making herself more comfortable.

‘No promises.’, Cisco told Barry. ‘Now stop chatting and get to work.’

He laughed at that, and cut the radio off.

With a deep sigh, Cisco went to Snow’s side.

‘How’s the ankle?’

‘Better.’, she nodded. ‘The splint is doing its job and the painkillers kicked in.’

‘Good, good.’

She looked at him, clearly expecting Cisco to say something more. He had nothing, and it was awkward.

‘How long till the download finishes?’, she asked.

‘13 more hours.’

‘And will they get us out before that?’

Cisco shrugged at that. ‘I really have no idea. Is your ankle gonna be okay if we have to wait that long?’

She nodded, before she huffed humorlessly. ‘Ankle, yes. Mental health? Hm.’

There was that pain, again. Like a stab to the heart. On a normal day, Cisco would have sassed back and tried his best to make her feel bad, too.

But this wasn’t a normal day. So he sighed and walked to the other side of the lab, sitting on the ground straight across from her. He didn’t say anything, he just looked at her.

‘You’re insufferable.’, she rolled her eyes.

‘I didn’t even say anything.’

‘Yeah, but you were thinking it! I can see it in your eyes.’

He decided to take a chance. ‘And what do you figure I was thinking about?’

‘Probably about how you’re better than me, and how brave and heroic you were today, how you saved my life by shielding me with your body.’

Oh, this was horrible. But Cisco was a stubborn man, and he really wanted to have an actual, real conversation with her.

‘Actually, Doctor Snow, I was thinking about how we’ve been together on Atlantis for a year. And I was thinking about whatever horrible thing I did to you to make you hate me. Cause I have absolutely no idea what it was.’

Her jaw dropped. ‘No idea?’

‘None.’, Cisco said gently. ‘If I’d know, I’d do my best to fix it.’

‘Oh, don’t lie to me!’, she was evidently angry.

‘Snow, I promise. I have absolutely no idea what I’ve done!’

She grabbed a nearby rock and threw it at him. Thankfully, she had a terrible aim and it missed him.

‘You didn’t want me on this expedition! You said I was too emotional and unable to make my decisions based on logic and information!’

It was Cisco’s turn to drop his jaw. ‘I did not say that.’

‘Stop lying!’, she screamed. ‘I read your report, Colonel O'Neill showed it to me at my second interview. The heads of departments made recommendations for all the first wave personnel.’

It took a few moments, but Cisco understood what happened. And it was… a mess.

‘Let me explain.’, he asked of her. ‘Just… let me explain and then I promise I’ll shut up for the next 13 hours.’

She huffed, crossed her arms over her chest and glared, strongly, at him. ‘Go on, then. The sooner you’re done talking, the better.’

He took a deep breath. ‘When they started talking about the Atlantis expedition as something that might actually happen, I wasn’t chosen to lead my department. They chose the head of R&D from Area 51, I’m guessing he’s the one who wrote those reports.’

A little of her anger faded away, and she frowned.

Cisco went on.

‘His name is Marlock, and while I was at Area 51, working under him, no woman scientist was in charge of any projects and they didn’t get any promotions. Ever.’

Snow pulled a disgusted face, at that.

‘A few weeks before we set off, the SGC got proof that he was working for a secret organization called The Trust.’

‘I know about them.’, she said. More anger faded away.

Cisco smiled. ‘Then I came along, and they did ask me about all the personnel, but I didn’t have time to actually write reports. I just gave a verbal statement. Now, I don’t wanna feed your ego’, he smirked, ‘but I said that your heart will be invaluable in an operation filled with so much military school of thought.’

Snow’s anger kept dissipating as he talked, and by the end of it, she looked very… soft. And hesitant. And she was not looking at him.

‘Snow?’, he grabbed her attention. ‘I admire you very much. The things you have done on Atlantis are incredible, and besides the fact that we’d all be dead and gone if it weren’t for you, you’re an amazing person and I really wish we wouldn’t… kill each other.’

She shook her head. ‘That’s the nicest thing you’ve ever said to me.’

Cisco, despite himself, blushed. ‘Ya know, Snow, there might be more of that coming your way if you, maybe, perhaps, kinda… stop hating me.’

She took a deep breath. ‘Call me Caitlin. And how about we eat something? I’m starving.’

Cisco felt himself relaxing at her words. He grinned, and was quick to get up and gather their supplies.

(｡♥‿♥｡)

They talked, as they ate, actually having a normal conversation.

They stared off easy, with questions like “how did you react when you found out about the Stargate?” and “what’s the thing you miss most about Earth?”, but went on from there.

Caitlin and Cisco talked for hours, and it was… nice. Very nice. They got to know each other, for real, beyond just Doctor Snow and Doctor Ramon, heads of their respective departments on the Atlantis expedition.

But Caitlin, who had taken more painkillers after she ate, grew tired, to the point where she couldn’t keep her eyes open. She tried, though, stubbornly so.

‘Come on, get some rest.’, Cisco said gently. ‘I’ll keep watch.’

‘But-’

‘For once, we should stop fighting.’

She didn’t argue anymore, smiling softly. He helped her lie down and didn’t move away until she was comfortable. Cisco went back to the terminal, started reading about plants and all things boring, just to keep himself from staring at Caitlin like a creep.

She woke up on her own two hours later, and insisted that he’d get some rest, too. He relented, because he had, in fact, been awake for over 20 hours. Cisco fell asleep quickly, next to her.

(｡♥‿♥｡)

The radio woke Cisco up, so Caitlin was the one to answer.

‘So, we have a plan, and it’s a good one, but you’re not gonna like it.’, Barry spoke evenly.

‘Does it involve us crawling our way out?’, Caitlin managed to sound completely serious.

‘Well, no.’

‘Then out with it.’, Cisco sighed.

‘Daedalus came back. The plan is to send a very little, tinsy tiny bomb, have it target the upper level of the cave, so that whatever interference the rock has, we’d be able to beam you up.’

‘As the cave is collapsing around us?’, Cisco all but yelled.

‘Hermiod is 99% sure it’s possible.’, Barry said with very little confidence.

‘Who’s Hermiod?’, Caitlin whispered.

‘The Azgard aboard Daedalus.’

‘Ah.’, she nodded.

Cisco groaned, wiping away at his eyes.

‘Might be better if you target right above the tunnel.’, he said after a few moments. ‘There’s a resistance pillar on the other side of the lab, we can stay there. It’ll stay up a few seconds longer than the rest of the place.’

‘Sure.’, Barry said after a moment. ‘One more thing: you can’t leave anything behind. That big of a blast, the wraith are sure to notice it. They’ll come looking.’

‘Yeah, just gimme a minute.’

‘A minute?’, Barry sounded amused.

Cisco cursed, but didn’t push the button, not just yet. After checking his computer, he looked apologetically at Caitlin, even as he answered Barry.

‘Two more hours for the download to finish and another one to wrap everything up.’

‘I’ll be okay,’ Caitlin was quick to say, ‘but I won’t be able to help much.’

‘Okay then.’, Barry said, overly happy. ‘Talk to you in two hours and fifty-five minutes. Allan out.’

Cisco groaned, for a long while. After he was done, he noticed that Caitlin was watching him curiously.

‘This is going to suck.’, he said with feeling.

‘Oh, this didn’t already suck?’, she asked sweetly.

‘You’re in pain, I’m sorry about that. But the rest of it was… kinda nice.’

It took a moment, but Caitlin chuckled. ‘Iris spent the last six months trying to set us up.’

Cisco made a very embarrassing sound that he had never made in his life.

‘I kept telling her she was insane, but… I’m starting to rethink that.’

‘I always thought we should get along.’, Cisco said in a rush. ‘There’s nothing that should stop us from getting along and I’ve always liked you.’

Caitlin smiled, her cheeks awfully red. Cisco looked worse, probably.

Then she shook her head, straightened her back. ‘That’s a problem we’ll fix tomorrow. Now, what are we going to do for the next two hours?’

He took a deep breath. ‘You rest, while I… panic.’

She playfully hit his shoulder. ‘How about we keep talking. What’s it like on a wraith ship?’

Cisco frowned. ‘What?’

‘I never get the time to read all the mission reports, and the rumors are absolutely ridiculous. So tell me, what’s it like?'

Talking to Caitlin definitely beat panicking about the wraith on the planet or the crazy plan to get them out of the damn cave.

So Cisco made himself comfortable next to her, grabbed some food for the both of them and started talking.

(｡♥‿♥｡)

After the download was finished, Cisco took a full ten minutes to make sure that it had all been transferred securely. Then, even if it was heartbreaking, he erased absolutely all the data in the lab.

After that, he started packing their stuff, checking everything three times, making sure they weren’t leaving anything of value behind. They couldn’t risk the wraith getting any information about Atlantis.

Then, he grabbed a screwdriver.

‘What are you doing?’, Caitlin asked.

‘I was thinking of taking some of this appart, and making us… a really dodgy McGyver-esque shield.’

‘Are all your missions this insane?’

He turned to her, staring. ‘Cait… This doesn’t even reach the top ten.’

She pulled a face, which spoke of understanding. ‘Carry on then.’

With a snort, Cisco started working.

(｡♥‿♥｡)

‘How’s it looking, guys?’, Barry asked, cheerily.

Cisco sighed. ‘I would just like to point out that this is insane, and that says a lot, considering it’s coming from me. Also, if we die, both Cait and I will haunt you forever.’

There was a pause.

‘Doctor Ramon, this is Colonel Thawne of the Daedalus.’

He rolled his eyes till kingdom come because if there was anybody in the world that Cisco despised, it was Thawne.

Caitlin giggled, which just made him glare.

‘Are you in position?’, Thawne went on.

‘Give us a minute. Or three.’

She was still on the ground, so Cisco helped her up. Caitlin didn’t let him pick her up fully, so they wobbled together to the other side of the lab, where Cisco had set up a sort of paravan, made out of parts. It wasn’t going to do shit against the cave collapsing on them, but it will probably help with their mental health.

Once Caitlin was sitting down under the paravan, Cisco gathered their gear around them and, just like before, he folded his body over hers, shielding her as best as he could.

‘Again, with this?’, she whispered.

‘Humor me.’, Cisco said after a beat. Then, he activated his radio. ‘Daedalus, we’re as ready as we’ll ever be. Fire in the hole!’

‘Copy that.’, Thawne was quick to answer. ‘Bombs away in three, two-’

They didn’t hear the end of that countdown, but it took only a few more seconds for them to hear the bomb actually dropping, getting close.

‘Oh, god.’, Caitlin breathed out. 

Her entire body was shaking, in fear and apprehension, and honestly, Cisco was not doing any better. So he held her tightly and told her to close her eyes.

And then the bomb hit.

It was a very odd feeling. One moment, he couldn’t breathe and he felt as if everything was on fire around him, the next moment there was utter silence and the distinct smell of metal and space.

Opening his eyes, Cisco realized that they were on the Daedalus, on the main bridge, and everyone was staring at them. Thawne, the entire crew on the bridge, Barry, Ralph and Iris.

To be fair, they were, for lack of a better word, cuddling.

‘You should have beamed us directly to the infirmary. Doctor Snow has a broken ankle and I have-’

‘And miss this?’, Thawne chuckled.

Caitlin pushed Cisco away, then, albeit gently. And she glared at the man.

‘Nice to meet you, Colonel Thawne, I’ve heard only horrible things about you. Now, do you want me to crawl to the infirmary or are you going to stop being a lousy excuse for a human being and do your job, by getting a med team here?’

To be fair to Thawne, he picked his jaw up fairly quickly and did, in fact, call for a med team.

(｡♥‿♥｡)

It only took a few hours for them to get back to Atlantis.

Caitlin spent those hours in the infirmary, with a cast on her sprained ankle.

Cisco spent those hours trying to dodge his team and their very insistent questions about what happened in the cave.

(｡♥‿♥｡)

Even if he had only been gone close to 40 hours, there was a lot of work piled up for Cisco. So he spent the day in his office, working away. It was the sort of day where the only reason he remembered to eat was the alarm on his wrist watch.

Until dinner. Five minutes before his alarm sounded, there was a knock on the door and Caitlin came in.

And she asked him out to dinner.

In the shock that followed, Cisco almost didn’t hear Barry over the PA system, asking him to come to the control room. Caitlin heard him loud and clear, because her face fell.

Cisco clicked on his earpiece, not once looking away from her.

‘Barry? On a scale of one to there are seven wraith hive ships approaching, how important is this?’

‘Uhm. About a three? I guess.’

Cisco smiled. ‘In that case, I’m busy. Rathaway can help you fix a three.’

He didn’t even wait for Barry to answer, he shut off his earpiece and, for good measure, left it on his desk.

Caitlin shook her head, heavily amused. ‘He’s gonna make you pay for that.’

‘Oh, definitely.’, Cisco snorted. ‘So I’m guessing this is probably going to be my last meal.’

‘Right. So we should make it special?’

He grinned, very pleased to have Caitlin teasing him.

‘We don’t  _ have  _ to make it special, but I’d like to make it a date.’

‘Deal.’, Caitlin smiled, extending her hand.

He was quick to take it, and together, they made their way out of the office.

They only made it five steps out in the hallways, until Caitlin stopped, clearly listening to someone speaking in her earpiece.

Her smile disappeared and it was replaced with a glare, aimed nowhere in particular.

‘Barry’, she said gravely, ‘I will shove a thermometer right up your ass if you don’t leave Cisco and I alone for at least the next two hours.’

That shut Barry up real quick. And it made Cisco so happy and excited, he couldn’t control himself. So he kissed Caitlin, right then and there, in the middle of the hallway. She kissed him back for a while, but she did stop, pointing out that Cisco will get sick if he didn’t eat soon.

Oh, Cisco was definitely going to fall in love with Caitlin.

And he couldn't wait for it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> IT IS DONE. CONGRATULATIONS TO ME FOR DOING THIS. I'M STILL ON LOCKUP, BUT THESE FICS HAVE KEPT ME SANE. SO, ONCE AGAIN, THANK YOU TO [@KILLERVIBEDAILY](https://killervibedaily.tumblr.com/) FOR SETTING THIS UP!


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